


Botched

by fluffy_subtext



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mpreg, Multi, potion made them do it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-03-09
Updated: 2012-03-09
Packaged: 2017-11-01 17:02:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 6
Words: 57,510
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/359198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fluffy_subtext/pseuds/fluffy_subtext
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A botched potion changes Neville's life, and it wasn't even one he messed up! Rated M for some serious scenes in the first chapter and rated T for the rest. This story will contain SLASH, guy on guy. Main pairing is Snape/Neville</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Botched

XXX

Botched

XXX

"I can't believe you got a detention already," Ron chuckled a little, sitting in one of the chairs by the fire beside Harry, who was staring at their chess game intensely. The redhead gave him a smug look before turning back to Neville, who was putting his school work away.

"Oh, you know it wasn't his fault." Hermione pulled her hair up into a rather bushy ponytail and looked over to the sandy-haired teen who just sighed. He put his bag in the chair he had been sitting in; he would probably be back before any of them went to bed, so there was no reason to give up his seat next to the fire.

"I don't even know why I'm still taking his classes." Neville moaned. It had been Potions of course. It always had to be Potions.

"You've gotten better at potions, Neville. If Malfoy hadn't thrown that gillo-root into your potion…" Hermione huffed. "Well, you should hurry before you're late, don't want to make it any worse."

"See you guys." Neville waved with a small smile before passing some third years and going through the portrait hole.

Their seventh year had just started at Hogwarts and he didn't really know what he had been expecting, but he had already blown up a cauldron- causing nothing short of a catastrophe in class just a week in. It was weird with everything that had happened the year before.

The end of sixth year was chaos: With sieges and Voldemort trying to take over. He shook his head, trying not to let any negative memories flow through, it was hard. It had been war and there were casualties, including Dumbledore, Percy Weasley, Seamus Finnigan and a lot more people Neville knew he was going to miss, but would remember forever. Harry had defeated Voldemort during the summer and the whole wizarding world rejoiced. They were even able to catch all the known Death Eaters.

It seemed too soon that they were starting school again, and everyone was surprised by Harry (well anyone that didn't know him too well) when he had shown up. He said that he felt like he still had things he needed to learn and then it seemed like everything was back to normal.

Neville's fingers twitched slightly as he made his way down the stairs, passing a few Ravenclaw girls who were chatting about something. He hadn't gotten proper time in the greenhouses since he had been back and Professor Sprout had even given him the password to gain access out of class hours. He was really excited about planting some seeds his Uncle had given him as a birthday present.

Of course, his first real free time just had to be spent with Professor Snape in detention. It turned out that the man was a good guy and for some reason, Neville realized that he had never doubted it. Sure, he had terrified Neville in his early years at Hogwarts, but Neville was taller now, and a lot more comfortable with himself than he had been before. Well, the war and spending time in the greenhouses had done well for his figure.

He wondered idly if Snape had noticed how much he had grown. He blushed at the thought. Neville knew he liked blokes; it was something he had realized right before the war. He had talked to Hermione about it, but let her know he still wasn't sure if he should let anyone else know. It was enough of a shock for him, especially when he was beginning to have strange feelings for certain potions expert.

He prayed Snape would never find out and if one day he did, hopefully Neville would be too far away to be flayed or skewered or whatever the other man would do to him.

Neville sighed; this had to be some joke Cupid was playing on him because he had finally started getting comfortable with himself.

"Oh no!"

Neville didn't even have time to look up before something hit him hard on the head and shattered. He grabbed the railing of the stairs and tried to steady himself so he didn't fall over. His ears were ringing and he realized that he was doused in something; he ran a hand through his hair and looked at his hand to see a weird pink fluid and some blood. He groaned, this wasn't good, even he could figure that out.

He was closer to the dungeons than the infirmary, maybe Professor Snape would let him clean up before the detention started. He didn't recognize it, but it definitely had to be a potion and Snape would know more about those anyway, right? He suddenly felt dizzy again and grabbed the rail. He looked at the mess around him and realized that whoever had dropped the potion had decided to book it.

He growled at his luck before setting a quicker pace toward the dungeons and ignored all the looks he got from the younger students that he passed and quickly knocked on the Potion room door. He was bleeding and there was a mysterious potion soaking him, there was really no time to stop and chat.

"Come in."

The silky voice came through the door and Neville tried to fight back another wave of dizziness as he walked into the classroom. Snape was arranging some papers on his desk.

"Professor, I was wondering if-"

"Longbottom, what are you…" Snape stopped and looked up at the state of the student in front of him. He got up and pulled the teen's arm toward the sink. He started to run the possibilities through his head of what it could be; there were a few well-known potions that took that color… "What happened to you?"

"Someone dropped it down the stairs…" Neville blushed a little at the older man's grip on his arm before he got a look at the Professor's expression. "Professor?"

Snape's face had gone strangely pale and blank. Neville noticed that his black eyes seemed to have glazed over and then Snape leaned forward and… sniffed… him.

Neville felt flustered as the older man pulled him closer and started to sniff his arms and chest. This was weird. "Is there something wrong, Professor?"

Snape's head snapped up and he looked at the teen, still blank and slightly glazed. Neville knew there was something wrong and he needed to get some help, but he couldn't move and he was getting another wave of dizziness again. But Snape never answered him nor did he release his grip at all.

The professor then scooped up a bit of the potion onto the tip of one of his fingers and tasted it. Neville stared wide-eyed, that didn't seem like a good thing to do. He had no idea what this potion was, not to mention his blood was mixing into it. But then again, he wasn't a Potions master and he never would be, so maybe the other man knew what he was doing.

And then Snape made this weird noise and before Neville could react, he was being pushed backwards. He tripped over his robes, causing him to fall backwards and his head to hit a desk with a loud smack and everything faded black.

The first thing he noticed was that he hurt all over. His body was pounding and screaming at him. His heart was pounding in his chest.

The second was that he felt very sick. He fought the bile in his throat.

The third thing Neville noticed before opening his eyes was that someone was having sex with him. He opened his eyes and it took them a while to open before he saw Snape above him…thrusting into him.

It hurt.

It hurt really badly.

He wanted to puke.

"Professor what… stop… " He groaned and his throat cracked, he could feel the tears falling out of his eyes. Snape still had same the expression on his face as before. "Please… stop… "

He didn't want it like this, never like this. He bit back a sob and tried to move, but his whole body was aching and Snape was holding him down. There was blood on the floor and the potion was still covering him and his butt felt ripped and sticky.

"STOP!" He screamed, crying, and grabbed something in his hand before smashing it against Snape's skull.

Whatever it was, it shattered and immediately his hand stung and he knew there was probably some glass in it. Snape fell instantly to the ground motionless and Neville pulled away, hissing in pain but staring wide-eyed at the fallen professor. He puked.

He couldn't stop the tears and his whole body was shaking, he tried to wipe his face and pulled his robes around him, ignoring how torn his pants and shirt was. He couldn't be in here, he had to leave.

He ran out of the room, refusing to glance at the man on the floor and did his best to ignore the way his body was screaming at him, or the fact that he was covered in potion, blood and semen.

He ignored everyone he passed and was slightly thankful for his inability to be noticed by the population. It wasn't until he was through the portrait hole and into the Gryffindor common room that the situation had hit him.

He felt the tears falling from his eyes again and his whole body was shaking roughly. He puked again.

"NEVILLE!" Hermione was in front of him. "What happened! Ron! Go get Professor Lupin!"

"I…I…" He swallowed and looked over at her. "I just killed Professor Snape."

And everything went black.

XXX

His head hurt.

To be honest, it was screaming.

Snape groaned and opened his eyes.

"Ah…Severus…" His eyes immediately fell on McGonagall and she was looking grim as always these days. Then he noticed he was in the Hospital Wing.

"What…" He tried to sit up, but then there was a hand on his chest stopping him. He followed it to see Remus Lupin; the man had offered to take over the DADA classes until Minerva could find another Professor for the spot.

"You have a nasty head trauma, move a little slower, Severus." Snape sat up a little slower, still not understanding how he had gotten here; he had been grading papers.

"Do you remember what happened?" Minerva asked and he gave her a look that he hoped said 'No, I don't recall grading papers to be a rather violent task, so no I do not know why I am here'.

"I was grading papers in my room waiting on Longbottom…" He stopped, his head really hurt. "He had came in covered with a potion and…"

It clicked.

He put his hand over his mouth and immediately there was a bucket in front of him and he threw up. He remembered it; there was something odd about the potion but…

He had raped Neville Longbottom.

He groaned as his head began to throb again and put his hands over his eyes, not wanting to look at them. This was disgusting, why was he still here? He should be halfway to Azkaban for something like that. The images kept flooding his mind and he felt disgusting… the teen had even been knocked out at first but had started fighting when he had come to.

But he had just kept going.

He pulled the bucket close again, puked and gagged.

"Severus…" He looked up at Minerva, who looked rather pale.

"You need to tell the Governors and I'll come quietly and…" His mind began racing frantically, "You'll need to find someone to replace me but I bet you could get Horace here for a few months…"

"Severus…"

He realized he was shaking, but with his mind racing as it was, he couldn't pinpoint the reason why. He looked up at Lupin and then back at McGonagall. Why wasn't he on his way to prison already?

"You're not going anywhere." She stated rather emotionlessly. "I already notified the Governors, of course, and but as of now, until they come up with a decision, you still teach here. I…"

"But why!" He looked at her frantically, "This isn't something that should be allowed, especially not involving a student and a professor! I….I…"

"Severus…"

"I raped him…" He said it and they all got quiet. He eyed the bucket in his hands, but didn't think he had anything else to get rid of inside of him.

"You couldn't have helped it." It was Lupin this time, not looking directly at the wreck in front of him. "The potion he was doused in…it was Amortentia, well, more like a slightly botched and updated version of it."

Snape's eyes widened slightly, but he still ran a hand through his hair nervously, "What do you mean updated?"

"The short explanation is that the two girls that made this also added some fertility ingredients to it as well as some transitu-root."

Snape did the math in his head, "They were trying to make a love potion that would hypnotize the drinker and make sure they're fertile?"

"So it seems. But they have been dealt with and sent home." Minerva sniffed shortly. "They decided they were going to test it but accidently dropped it on Mr. Longbottom. This potion… it would have been impossible for you to control your actions, Severus…"

"I should've known better… the second I saw him… "

"You were concerned for his safety and got too close, there was no way you could recognize a botched potion." Lupin smiled slightly and Snape felt disgusted at the gesture. What were they doing? Didn't they realize the situation?

"Anyways… when Poppy and Pomona are done speaking with him," she eyed Snape warily as if knowing that he didn't like any of this, "we will let him decide what happens. And if you still feel like you need to be punished, I think I could come up with something… but for now you need to settle down, Severus, and compose yourself."

That's when he noticed that there was a bed across the room with curtains drawn around it; they hadn't put them in the same room after what had happened, had they?

"He woke up right before you." Lupin had noticed him staring at the curtains, "We decided to let Pomona try and speak with him because he seems closest with her."

Snape put a hand over his eyes and sat back on the bed. Maybe Longbottom would talk some sense into these people. Rape was serious, and he didn't think that any of them were taking it as hard as they should be.

"There was no way, Snape." Remus sighed, watching the silent struggle, "Both of you were…"

"Stop it." He said it quietly, but the other man had heard and quieted… and they waited.

XXX

Neville lied on the bed as Madame Pomfrey explained it to him. Professor Sprout was at the head of his bed twirling his hair in her fingers, something he had told her comforted him when he was little. He was glad she was here; she was the second closest thing that he would consider to be a mother figure. He curled his legs to his chest, ignoring how his body told him to stop moving because it hurt.

So it had been the potion's fault. He didn't know what to do. It had been awful, but did he really want to make Snape quit his job?

The older man was just as much a victim as he was.

But then he didn't think that he could take seeing the older man any time soon… it was just too much. He felt nauseous. Maybe they could all pretend that it had never happened?

He began to wonder idly if the whole school had thought he tried to kill Snape by now.

"Mr. Longbottom…" He looked over to the nurse who was looking at him with worry, "I suggest that you get some counseling for a little while and we still need to decide if you want to stay or…"

He sat up a little. "I-I want to stay." He looked at his hands on the bed. "I mean, I want to finish my schooling and it's not like I want to leave or anything."

They were both watching him nervously; he didn't know how he felt about that.

"I-I know the situation." He sighed and tried not to think about it again. "I don't think that either of us could have stopped it… and it's not like it was on purpose…"

"I want to stay here…" He looked at them both, "I-I just don't think I can… you know… I should drop out of his class. I wasn't any good at Potions anyway." He tried to smile, but it didn't seem to work.

"But you are alright if he keeps teaching here?" Professor McGonagall was there and she pulled back the curtain. He looked down at the ground but nodded.

"It was an accident; it wasn't either of our faults…" He still couldn't stop shaking.

"As long as you are sure, Mr. Longbottom, and if you change your mind you can come speak to me." Her voice was strangely soft and he nodded again, not looking at her.

"Well, you need to lie back down and get some rest." Madame Pomfrey immediately went into her normal nurse mode. "I'll be keeping you here tonight and you can decide tomorrow if you feel like going."

He nodded again and lied back down on the bed and closed his eyes. He was grateful for whoever's hand started massaging his hair because it helped him fall asleep.

Minerva looked over as Snape, who had heard the boy's answer. "He doesn't blame you for anything, Severus, but I do suggest that we continue this somewhere else, in case he wakes up again."

Snape nodded slowly and Remus helped him out of bed.

XXX

A week after.

XXX

Neville sat in the common room watching everyone talk with their friends and Ron beat Harry at Wizard's Chess. He had thought it would be harder, but it had been easy to try and forget what had happened- it was probably because no one knew what really happened.

He still got strange looks from people who thought he had tried to kill Professor Snape and the Slytherins had been worse than usual, but he knew secret passageways and now only had to see them in class or in the Great Hall and both had teachers there.

Most of the Gryffindors had assumed he had just botched another potion in detention and that Snape had banned him from classes, when really Neville had chosen to stop attending.

It was weird, but he was glad he didn't have to see the Potion's Master anytime soon and Snape hadn't been eating with the other professors in the Great Hall either.

"Neville, you alright?" He looked over to see Harry looking at him, slightly worried. He must have lost already.

"Oh, yeah," he smiled the best he could, "I just zoned out."

"You've been doing that a lot lately." Hermione was suddenly sitting beside Neville on the couch he was occupying. "Are you feeling alright? You look a little tired."

He smiled at her; it was nice to have friends that cared. He wondered for a second if he should tell her… she had been good on her word to keep his other secrets so far… He quickly decided against it, the less people that knew about it, the easier for him to pretend it never happened.

Minus the fact that he had to go to counseling again today, but he had been feeling tired lately, more than usual. And he had just planted his seeds the other day and hadn't had a chance to check up on them even though he knew that Professor Sprout was probably keeping a good eye on them for him.

"Yeah, just tired I guess." He shrugged, "Maybe I'm catching a cold…"

Hermione seemed okay with that answer and she patted him on the arm. "Just take care of yourself, okay?"

"Man, Neville." Ron sighed dejectedly, "I don't know how you do it…"

"Do what?"

"Oh come on…" The red-head grinned teasingly. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed all the girls givin' you looks and stuff…"

Neville flustered, "Wha-what?"

"Just saying, man," Ron made a face like he had missed a chance at something he thought he should have, "First you almost kill Professor Snape and don't get expelled (Neville had paled slightly at these words), and now you're getting all the attention from the ladies…"

"It's finally my y-year I guess." Neville decided he really was tired and got up. "I think I'm going to get some winks in before I have to meet McGonagall."

"Must be tough with those extra lessons." Harry yawned, "Must be nice to be missing out on Potions though."

"Heh, yeah." Neville looked over the new game of chess they had started and moved one of Harry's pieces to put Ron in check. "See you guys later."

"Cheater!" Ron shouted after the laughing teen.

XXX

"So everything is going alright then?" Minerva McGonagall watched the boy in front of her nod. He looked tired. "Are you getting enough sleep, Neville?"

He smiled slightly at that, "Yes, ma'am, just a little tired today."

"Is there anything you wanted to talk about today?" She smiled softly at him.

"Well actually, I was wondering if I could leave a little early today," Neville shuffled a bit, "I wanted to get to bed a little early."

"How about we skip this meeting today then?" She stood and he followed, "And I think we can just start having sessions twice a week if that is alright with you?"

He nodded fervently; he had been going to meet her every night since he had left the hospital.

"Please take care of yourself and get some rest."

Neville said goodbye and went down the spiral steps from the Headmaster's office. He braced himself against the wall as he made it into the hallway; a sudden wave of dizziness had hit him. Maybe he was more tired than he thought.

He slowly made his way down the hall before he noticed some Slytherin students ahead of him. He paused, noticing that they hadn't seen him and quickly went behind a curtain that had a quicker way back to his common room. He wasn't in the mood to be dodging hexes.

He made it to the stairs and was glad to see it was green free, but then suddenly the stairs started moving and another wave of dizziness caused him to fall backwards. He braced himself for the fall down the stairs and hoped he wouldn't go over the edge as they moved but suddenly there were arms keeping him up.

"Watch it, you idiot, what year are you? You should realize by now these cursed stairs move, you..." His eyes widened at the voice and he immediately spun around and jumped back away from the arms. His heart was pounding through his chest and his body began to shake.

Snape's eyes widened when he saw Longbottom, he hadn't been able to tell from behind and he mentally cursed himself. The boy looked terrified and sick.

Neville noted the shocked face that slowly slid into an uncomfortable expression. The stairs had stopped moving, but he didn't know what to do and he felt sick again so he grabbed the rail to steady himself.

"Are you…" Snape took a step forward but stopped immediately as a hand slapped him across the face.

Neville stared wide-eyed; his hand was stinging. He had just hit Professor Snape! He backed up a few steps but didn't know what to do. "Professor! I-I'm sor-"

"Please return to your common room, Mr. Longbottom." Snape didn't raise his eyes to meet the boy's but kept them closed as his cheek burned. He heard feet run up the stairs but didn't move until he couldn't hear them anymore. He looked around for any witnesses but didn't see any.

He had been doing so well.

XXX

A week after the stairs incident and Neville once again had to catch himself against the wall. He wasn't feeling well again and it was happening more often.

"Are you alright, mate?" Ron was beside him and put his hand over Neville's forehead, "You look like hell and you didn't eat anything this morning."

"Ha, thanks." Neville waited for the room to stop spinning, it seemed to be happening more frequently. "I think I might really be coming down with a bug or something."

"Want to go to the infirmary?" He asked quietly as Harry and Hermione walked over to them.

"No, I'll be alright; I think I might go to bed though." He smiled as the other two walked up.

"What's up? You guys ready for Charms?" Harry switched the shoulder he was carrying his bag on.

"Neville's feeling sick, so he's going to bed." Ron answered for the pale teen. "Want us to take notes for Transfigurations too? Maybe Hermione can convince the Headmistress that you should skip your extra lessons tonight too."

Neville nodded gratefully before making his way up the stairs.

He passed Dean Thomas on the way who ended up helping him up to the tower before continuing his way to class.

Neville sat on his bed; it was weird that as long as he wasn't moving he felt okay. There was knocking at his door and Ginny Weasley poked her head in.

"You alright, Neville?" She walked over to his bed and put her hand on his forehead. "You look like hell."

"Your brother already told me that." He laughed lightly. "I feel a little better already; I just don't like moving right now…"

"Do you want me to get Madame Pomfry or Professor Lupin?" She smiled, Lupin had become the new Gryffindor Head when McGonagall hired him, but she still didn't find anyone to take her class… although most students assumed she didn't try very hard.

"I'm good; it'll probably be over tomorrow anyway."

"Hmm…well, you want to help Luna and me with our Herbology essays?" She grinned.

"You're going to let a Ravenclaw girl into a Gryffindor boy's dorm room?" He laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll tell everyone what an experience you are." She faked a husky voice before snorting and walking out the door with a promise to bring a blonde with her next time.

XXX

Neville watched as Professor Snape entered the Great Hall looking as nonplus as ever. He took note on how the man didn't even glance at the Gryffindor table. The professor seemed back to normal and had been eating with the other teachers again.

"Oh look, its Snape." Neville looked to see his dorm-mates sit down around him. Ron growled, "He's been worse than ever lately, stupid git."

"Ron!" Hermione hissed at the ginger, but Neville felt a strange sort of relief. If Professor Snape could get back to normal, then so could he.

"No wonder you've been feeling sick lately." Dean snorted at Neville's plate. "Most people don't mix those together."

"I don't see why not." Neville laughed, "It's delicious." Ignoring the grossed out faces of the people around him, he took a spoonful of mashed potatoes with pickles and ketchup. He had to admit it wasn't something he would normally try, but the second he saw the food, he had wanted to mix it up and eat it.

"I will never complain about what Ron eats ever again." Harry turned away, deciding he couldn't watch the other boy eat. This humored Neville slightly, considering they had just gotten out of a war and Harry had probably witnessed a lot worse.

"Oh, Neville!" Suddenly Ginny was beside him with her arm around his shoulders, smiling brightly. He looked over at her warily along with Ron and Harry. Hermione looked amused.

"Luna and I just wanted to thank you for those…" she blushed, "um… lessons… you gave us the other day… they were very… stimulating." And then she was gone, walking over to her friends who were giggling.

Ron and Harry had both spluttered their drinks, making a mess on their robes. Even Hermione was a deep red as they all stared at a very flustered Neville. Dean was giving him an odd look.

"You don't mean Luna Lovegood?" His tone was odd too. Neville's eyes widened.

"I-I just helped them with Herbology!" He glared down at Ginny who laughed and then winked.

"Better have been." Ron mumbled, causing Harry to laugh nervously. Dean smiled slightly but Neville could tell something was on his mind.

"You like Luna, Dean?" He asked suddenly and put his hand over his mouth as soon as it came out.

The black teen spluttered and then blushed furiously before standing up and leaving the Great Hall rather quickly.

"Very tactful, Neville." Hermione sighed, "But that's kind of cute…Dean and Luna…"

"Huh?" Ron looked over at Hermione. "What about Dean and Luna?"

Neville, Hermione and Harry sighed.

XXX

Neville sighed against a pillar in the courtyard; today's weather was turning out nice and he was glad to have a moment alone. For the past few days, he had been assuring Ron of his sister's chastity, assuring Harry that yes he knew that Harry liked Ginny and yes he would keep it a secret from Ron and then assuring Dean to try and go for Luna, she was a nice girl and he thought they would be nice together.

He sighed, picking up his bag and ran a hand through his hair. He went into the hallways trying to figure out what he could do before his class and if he had time.

"Oi, Longbottom." Neville flinched before turning to see Draco Malfoy smirking at him. Crabbe and Goyle had died in the war… on the Death Eater's side. Malfoy had actually helped the Order, but that didn't mean he became nice or anything.

"Malfoy."

"Just wanted to tell you how nice it's been in Potions without you." The blonde smirked. "No one's messed up any of their potions and even Potty is getting passing marks without having to keep an eye on you."

"Glad for the update." He smiled as nicely as he could at the blonde who was obviously caught off guard. Taking his chance, he moved past him and took a passage to the greenhouses; he wanted to check on the seedlings.

But on his way, he suddenly got tired; he yawned as he entered greenhouse number three and went to the back to his pots. He sat down on the stool there and laid his head against the table. Maybe he could catch some sleep before DADA.

XXX

Neville noticed that Lupin was giving him a weird look. He wished he hadn't but he had and now he really wanted to know why he has earned it. He looked over himself… he looked normal. He watched the werewolf walk around the classroom with a smile while giving them new instructions on how to deal with Nariph Pixies.

Neville wondered if anyone else noticed that the professor was sniffing the classroom while talking.

He stifled a yawn. He had been getting more sleep lately but it didn't seem like it was enough. He was also hungry but tried to tell his body it had to wait until supper time. It was weird; he seemed to be eating more than usual too… he just hoped he wouldn't gain all that weight he had lost back…

"Mr. Longbottom." Neville looked up to see Lupin looking at him warily, "Are you feeling alright?"

"Yes, sir?"

Lupin seemed to think about this before whispering. "Actually I would like to take you to see Madame Pomfrey if that is alright. Will you wait outside for a second?"

Neville was very confused but he nodded and went to get his bag and shrugged at everyone who gave him a weird look. He didn't know what was going on. He stepped outside as Lupin gave Harry and Hermione instructions on how to run the class and deal with the pixies, also letting them know that he was going to the Hospital Wing in case anything happened.

"Is there something wrong, sir?" Neville asked a little anxiously as the professor closed the door to his classroom behind him. "Do I look ill?"

Professor Lupin smiled, "No, you don't look sick- tired, but not sick. But I think…" He stopped himself and looked around at the students passing them. "I'll tell you when we get there."

That didn't make Neville feel any better.

He fidgeted, trying to think of what could be wrong and why he was the one singled out. He looked over at the professor as they made their way down the hall and noticed he was sniffing again… Okay, so he smelled like he was sick? Did he somehow get a weird disease that's traceable by smell? Well… maybe he was sick and that would explain his fatigue and dizziness…

"Poppy?" They walked into the Hospital Wing to find it empty and Neville was grateful… he didn't really want anyone finding out he had some weird smelling disease.

"Oh, Remus!" She smiled before she saw Neville, "Is there anything wrong?" She asked hurriedly.

"Oh no." He smiled, but Neville could tell it was faked and he realized he didn't appreciate it. "I was wondering if you could maybe check over Mr. Longbottom real quick."

"What for?" She looked the teen up and down and Neville was glad she didn't seem to think anything was wrong but before he could feel very relieved, Professor Lupin had whispered something into her ear and she gasped, staring at Neville wide-eyed. "You don't think?"

"I just wanted to check… you know just in case…" He cast a nervous glance at Neville and swayed on his heels, swinging his arms.

"For wha-"

"Please sit over here, Mr. Longbottom." Madame Pomfrey interrupted Neville's question but the teen silently obeyed and sat down on one of the beds. "Okay, lay flat on your back and be still please."

"But what are you checking for?" Neville asked anxiously as he lied on his back. "You're making me nervous…"

But she didn't answer and instead started mumbling incantations over him while waving her wand back and forth and then stopped over his stomach. She seemed to grow a little pale. She then started to use her free hand to touch and grope around his stomach and lower abdomen uncomfortably, but Neville did his best to stay still while she mumbled her incantations.

She stopped and looked at Remus. She nodded and then suddenly the professor was out the door and Neville could hear him running down the hall.

"B-but what?" He looked at her and felt scared… what was going on?

"Mr. Longbottom, I don't know any other way to tell you this other than…" She paused before pushing him back against the pillow gently so he was lying flat again. "You're pregnant."

XXX

"But how?" Neville sniffled slightly, not allowing himself to cry. He knew he was in shock but really didn't think that crying would make this situation any better.

"We overlooked the possibility." Professor McGonagall was sitting beside Neville's bed and had a hand over her face. "The potion had some fertility attributes but we ignored it because you aren't a girl…"

"No, I'm not!" Neville agreed, nodding his head, "B-but then…how?"

"You're not the first pregnant wizard…" Madame Pomfrey handed him something to drink, "This should calm you down a bit, stress will not be good for your child."

He looked at the drink and then looked down at his stomach; this was getting to be too much. He drank it, hoping that maybe it would put him to sleep and he would wake up with this being a dream.

"Have you been feeling tired lately? Maybe a little nauseous?" Neville nodded at the nurse.

"It's been getting worse, but I thought I was just getting sick or something…" He whispered and then groaned, "And I've got the weird cravings too!"

"Neville." He stopped at the serious tone and looked down at McGonagall who was pale with her lips pressed thin, but she looked more nervous than anything. "W-we need to…." She sighed and closed her eyes for a second before looking at him again. "Do you want to have this baby?"

He looked at her, what other option was there? His eyes widened… she wasn't thinking… "It's a life, Professor…" He put a hand over his stomach, "I d-don't understand everything yet, but it's a life and I can't take away a life."

She looked relieved and color started returning to her face and Neville was grateful that she hadn't wanted him to get rid of it. He had decided during the war that he couldn't kill and he certainly wouldn't kill someone who hadn't even had a chance to live yet… whether or not he was pregnant.

"Remus, you need to get Professor Snape and bring him here." Professor McGonagall was pacing. Neville's eyes widened, he hadn't really talked to the professor since the stairs… He looked down at the ground, if you could consider that talking. Of course he would have to tell Snape… it was his kid too…

Neville didn't know how he felt about that…

"And we need to tell your Gran and…"

"Wait! No way!" Neville put a hand over his mouth, he had just shouted at the headmistress!

"Neville, we are going to need to…" She sighed and began to massage her temple…

"No." He tried to sound as firm as he could. "We can't. She'll either pull me out of school or she'll tell me to get rid of it." He didn't want to add 'or both' but he figured the woman knew. He had lived with his Gran long enough to know how she felt about these things.

"Mr. Longbottom, I don't think you understand the…"

"I'm of age!" He looked at her pleadingly. "You can't tell her without my permission!"

Minerva sighed before sitting down. "I'll think she'll find out when you visit her, or maybe through another student's parents? We won't be able to keep this quiet."

"I would rather her find out later than now." Neville sniffed, the wrath would be the same either way.

"Very well." The older woman nodded curtly. "Is there a relative you would like to notify?"

Neville thought about it. "My Uncle Algie, but I'll write him a letter later."

"Fine." He could tell she didn't agree with not telling his Gran, but he knew it would be for the best.

The doors opened and Professor Lupin walked in, being followed quickly by Professor Snape who had stopped when he noticed Neville and the crowd around him. But his expression had remained collected, a lot different than the surprise last time- but he had dark bags under his eyes. Neville bit his lip; he could tell the older man was wary to approach after what had happened.

"Young Mr. Longbottom is pregnant." Minerva got right to the point as Snape stood at the doorway. The man's eyes widened and he seemed to go a bit paler. That's when Neville noticed that Snape looked a little sick himself. "He's decided he wants to keep it and I think it would appropriate if both of you finally spoke to each other at this moment."

Neville didn't look up as he heard everyone move away from him and the door open again, were they really going to leave him alone with Snape? He could feel himself start to shake. He looked up and only Snape was standing at the doorway looking at the ground. Snape looked sick and tired, different from the collected self he had been pulling off and Neville found himself wishing the man would go back to that image.

Neville cleared his throat, causing the man to look up at him. "I promise not to hit you… just… not too close."

Snape seemed to think about this before walking toward the teen and stopping two beds away; he sat down on the closest one and faced the teen.

"I-I-" He closed his mouth and eyes angrily; Neville watched him struggle for words to say and looked down at his hands. "I've wanted to tell you I'm sorry… about…"

"Yeah." Neville interrupted, not wanting him to finish. "Me too."

"You have nothing to apologize for." Snape said in an almost angry tone that had startled Neville, "You didn't do anything wrong."

"Then you shouldn't have to apologize because it's not like you did it of your own free will, now did you?" Neville started back bitterly, finding himself angry at the older man.

"I…"

"Listen…" Neville raised his hand to stop Snape… something he would have never dreamed of doing before. "This isn't about that… I'm keeping this kid."

"Okay." Snape nodded but he seemed torn to say something else.

"You're okay with it?" Neville asked, eyeing the older man and was thankful that Snape seemed to be pulling himself back together.

"I think that any decision you make should be the one taken…" Snape nodded. "It's your body."

"It's our child." Neville offered, but then there was an uncomfortable silence and suddenly the tears Neville was trying to hold back earlier came pouring out. He wiped at his face. "I-I'm sorry…I-I just…"

Snape didn't say anything and Neville noticed that the man looked younger sitting across from him with his usually expressionless face watching him closely… almost afraid as if Neville was going to hurt himself.

"J-just let me pull myself together…" Neville sniffed and then decided on a rather brave move, "I would like to start attending your classes again, Professor, if that is alright."

This seemed to shock the black-haired man speechless for a moment before he nodded. "But why?"

"It's been that much easier without me?" Neville tried to joke and wiped his face again, "I still think I can make at least one good potion before I graduate here…"

He smiled when he saw the older man's lips twitch at the ends.

"I think I'm going to get some rest now… big news and all…" Neville lied back onto the bed and was out before he heard the door close.

XXX

"You're what?" Hermione hissed as quietly as she could and then they both looked around. There was no reason because they had the library to themselves considering it was a bright and sunny Friday afternoon.

Neville flushed, he had felt the need to tell her- she knew he was gay and had helped him through a lot and he knew that when the rest of the school found out, he would need a friend like her around.

"I'm pregnant." He whispered again. "It's a long story…"

"Do you know who the father is? Is there a father?" She was obviously slightly excited about the chance to study something rare.

"Yes, there is a father…" He paused, not knowing if Snape would want anyone to know… or if he wanted to tell anyone the circumstances… "I-I just don't know if I can tell you right now… how it happened."

She nodded and he could tell she was making a mental note to bring it up in the future.

"What can you tell me?"

"Well… that's why I'm tired all the time and get kind of nauseous every once in a while."

"Oh! And the weird food…"

"Yes, that too." Neville nodded, "Look, I was really wondering if you wouldn't mind… I know NEWTs are coming up, but if you wouldn't mind helping me research this? It's kind of terrifying and I get uncomfortable asking Madame Pomfrey about all of this…"

"Oh Neville!" Her eyes filled with tears of delight. "If you weren't a poof… yes, I'm going to help you! Of course! And if you need anything else… or help covering up something, let me know!"

Neville grinned and brought her to a hug. "I probably will… I'm just not ready to tell anyone else yet… you know…"

"Well, let's get cracking!" Hermione jumped to her feet and walked off to the shelves of books. Neville sighed and put his hand over his flat stomach… he never would have expected this and the circumstances sucked majorly, but he knew it was the right thing.

Maybe he would be able to find a guy that liked kids?

He suddenly thought of Snape and how the stoic man seemed dejected when he had spoken to him… understandably so… but still. He had feelings for the man before this had happened and even with everything happening… No, it was impossible for them to even get in close range anymore.

Neville wondered how Potions was going to go… would he be able to do it?

"Hermione…" He looked at where she disappeared before he saw a tower of books heading in his direction. "That many? Are you serious?"

She smiled behind the pile, "I just grabbed everything, and they all might have something useful; you never know."

"Right." Neville watched her put the books down and then arrange them into smaller piles, "I was wondering what Potions has been like since I've been out."

"Oh really?" She gave him a look, "Well it's been the same… Snape's been a lot snappier lately… Actually since you tried to kill him and all." She rolled her eyes. "But he has also been very cautious and watching over everyone more… it's gotten a bit scary actually."

"Oh." Neville, "I'm starting classes again, so I was just wondering…"

"Really? They're letting you go back?" She raised an eyebrow before shrugging, "As long as you don't mind him repeating the laws of potions over and over… or the instructions of that day… Well I guess you won't mind, I know how you like his voice…"

Neville dropped the book he was holding and tried not to squeak. "W-what?"

"Oh, come on." She sniffed, "You don't remember telling me about his oh-so-sexy voice this past summer? Well maybe not… you and Harry had both gotten a little wasted celebrating your birthdays, but still…"

"Oh… did anyone else hear that?" He picked up the book again, trying to be nonchalant.

"I doubt it." She grinned a little at him but didn't say anything else.

XXX

"Hey Neville, what are you reading?" Neville closed his book and looked up at Harry and Ron who were coming back after Quidditch practice; neither of them was looking at him as they changed, so he quickly slid the book on pregnancy under his pillow.

"Just some Herbology theories… you know…" Neville smiled and got up. He had been feeling a little better than usual, and the weekend had been going good. Although he would be attending Potions again on Monday.

"Is there really that much to read about plants?" Ron looked at him quizzically and Neville rolled his eyes.

"More than there is to read on Quidditch." He laughed as they both started to argue about the differences. "I'm going to check on my plants… I'll meet you down at the Great Hall for dinner…"

"Okay, see you in a bit." Neville ducked out and made his way to the common room and quickly passed all the underclassman, which was pretty easy since they were so small. He had been in the library with Hermione, which had proven useful for getting his homework done, but after the first book he decided he would rather learn by doing.

If those pictures and diagrams meant anything… this pregnancy deal was going to get messy.

Neville shook his head, not wanting to think about it. Hermione had gotten him to read up on pregnant wizards while she took… the more… descriptive books.

Stepping outside on his way to the greenhouses, he shivered. It was getting pretty cool for the end of September. He wrapped his arms around himself and walked to house number three, mumbling the password and walking through the door. It was immediately warmer in the greenhouse, he looked around the work benches and saw that the fourth years had left their Bubotubers out and the slug-like plants wriggled slightly in their pots when Neville walked past them.

He noticed some vines on the floor, but his attention was immediately given to his pots on the desk in the back. His Great Uncle Algie didn't tell him what he was growing, but had given him instructions with each seed and Neville was anxious for hints of what these plants might be.

He had mailed his Great Uncle a few days ago telling him everything, well, almost everything about what had happened. He had just said that he and Professor Snape got into a potions accident… which was the truth technically. But he asked the man not to tell his sister, she might be Neville's Gran but he still didn't want her to know about it yet.

He prayed that she hadn't intercepted the letter. He still hadn't gotten a reply from the man, but he felt that he could trust him, plus it was big news! Neville still didn't know how he felt about it… or if it had really hit him yet. Sure, he knew he was pregnant and it was going to be a big step and not easy but… he felt that nothing had really changed yet.

He looked down at his stomach wondering when he would look pregnant, but suddenly he saw the vines he had noticed earlier wrap themselves around his legs and before he could do anything the wind was knocked out of his chest as he hit the ground on his face. He groaned and tried to turn over so he could see the source of the vines, but they started to drag him back and he saw blood on the pavement… he must have busted his nose but his face felt a little numb.

He looked back and saw a large group of Devil's Snare. His eyes widened and he reached for his wand, this wasn't good! He tried to stay relaxed as he searched his body for his wand, but it wasn't in any of his pockets, he looked to where he had fallen and saw it on the floor.

Definitely not good.

Okay, he shouldn't struggle because that would make the plant work faster. He sighed and laid his head on the ground trying to think as it pulled him into its tendrils. He watched the vines start to wrap around one of his arms.

Okay, maybe Harry and Ron would notice he hadn't shown up for dinner and come looking for him… but by the time they found him… Neville had to admit that he was starting to get worried and then he noticed he had left the door slightly ajar… maybe someone could be out there?

"IS ANYONE OUT THERE?" He shouted at the top of his lungs, which obviously made the Devil's Snare react and it started wrapping around his chest and throat. Neville choked, trying to remain relaxed.

"SOMEONE? ANYONE? HELP!" And suddenly the plant was grasping his middle tightly and he flinched at the tightness. His eyes widened, wait… there was no way that was good for his baby!

"HELP!" Ignoring his earlier thought process, Neville grabbed the vines at his middle with his free hand and started pulling at them, but they started getting tighter and the one around his throat started to constrict further. With tears in his eyes, he gagged.

No! No! No! It felt like it was trying to break his hips and ribs and he gagged as he tried to yell again, but the vine around his throat was tightening again and his free hand was now being pulled into the vines.

SOMEONE PLEASE!

Neville cried and tried kicking at the vines.

Suddenly there was a bright light and it became very hot. There was a hand pulling him from the vines as they recoiled from the bright light and heat. The second he was released, Neville gasped for air and kicked himself away from the vines. It was still bright but the heat had gone away and Neville's hands went to his stomach and he couldn't stop the tears from coming.

"Mr. Longbottom." Neville looked up at the silky voice of his rescuer. It was Snape and he was looking over him anxiously but didn't get close enough to touch him again. It seemed that Snape was always there for him and Neville got up and threw his arms around the man's chest, tears falling down his face.

He knew that Snape probably didn't like to be hugged but he had saved him and even after Neville had hit him and yelled at him. He cried… what if…. what if…

"The baby…." He sobbed and looked up to the older man, "the baby…"

Then there were strong hands on his back moving him, but Neville didn't think he would be able to walk, especially not as far as the Hospital Wing but then Snape handed him his wand as they left the greenhouse and Neville noticed that the man was talking but he couldn't hear him very well.

His whole body was shaking and he wrapped his arms around his stomach, hoping. In the books he had read, it was noted how much easier it was for wizards to miscarry than it was for witches, he hadn't even thought about it. He couldn't stop the tears falling from his face; he had never cried so many times and so close together in what felt like such a long time.

Suddenly they were in the warmth of the castle, but Neville allowed himself to be pushed quickly in the direction of the hospital. He hoped that most of the kids were eating in the Great Hall like they were supposed to be doing and no one would see him in this mess.

He wasn't even hungry anymore.

"Madame Pomfrey!" Snape's voice bellowed and then Neville noticed they were already there. He didn't know how they had made it there so fast, but then he was being forced to sit down by the black-haired man and Neville realized how frantic Snape's breathing was. He wiped the tears from his eyes, willing them to stop.

"Severus! Wha… Mr. Longbottom, what's wrong?" Snape went to move back so she could have more space, but Neville reached forward, grabbing the other man's arm. Snape was obviously startled but Neville decided he needed him there.

"P-please stay." The older man didn't move away from the teen's grip and watched Neville try to fight back the tears as he looked at the nurse. "Devil's Snare… it got me…" He wrapped his arms around his stomach.

Her eyes widened and she was immediately handing him something to drink that he didn't even see her prepare. He drank it without question and had to let go of the older man's sleeve as she forced him to lie down. "I'm going to check, Neville." Her voice was soft but he felt himself relaxing. It must have been a calming potion…

He looked over at Snape and their eyes met. He wanted to the older man to stay, but he didn't know if he could ask. But almost as if the man had read his mind, Snape walked over to the other side of the bed and took Neville's hand.

If Madame Pomfrey noticed, she didn't say anything, but she kept waving her wand over him and mumbling. Then she stopped and smiled. "It's okay…"

Neville wanted to cry for joy but decided he had cried enough and he looked over to Snape who had a strangely relieved expression Neville realized he rather liked. He squeezed the older man's hand and looked back at the nurse who was wiping her forehead, but with a small smile. "You should rest here tonight and I'll be talking to Pomona about the plants she's keeping in there and…"

"Neville!" They all turned to see Hermione come into the Hospital Wing being closely followed by Professor McGonagall and another man. "We were looking for you and then some girls said that they saw you heading this way and you looked awful! Are you alright?"

"He's alright, but he's going to be resting now, if you please…" Pomfrey looked aghast at the number of people starting to surround Neville's bed.

Neville noticed Hermione's eyes fall to his hand holding Snape's and he quickly let go, hoping that maybe she hadn't noticed. "Why were you looking for me?"

"Well, you see…" Neville paled at the voice and looked up to see his Great Uncle Algie walk up to the bed, "I got this letter from my Great Nephew and it was full of all of this information…"

"Miss Granger, I think we should leave them alone for a…" McGonagall pulled on Hermione's shoulder, not wanting the girl to hear anything Neville or Snape didn't want her to know. He knew she would probably come by tomorrow and ask him.

They waited until Hermione was gone and McGonagall was back keeping an eye on the man beside her. He looked a lot like Neville's father would have if he was older. He smiled down at Neville who was still anxiously looking at his hands. "C'mon Nev, I'm not your Gran, why are you acting all scared?"

Neville looked up at the smile and immediately let out a sigh of relief. He smiled, "You're not mad at me?"

"Should I be?" Algie pulled out the letter his nephew had written him and looked down it. "It doesn't seem like you did anything bad. But how did you end up here?"

"Devil's Snare seems to have taken greenhouse three." Neville moved to get up but his body was suddenly stiff and sore. A hand gently pushed him back down and he looked up at Snape, but the older man wasn't looking at him anymore.

"Devil's Snare? Really?" Neville laughed slightly at the eagerness in his Uncle's voice. It was nice to see him again.

"I dare say visiting hours are over and he should be really getting some rest. This kind of stress isn't good for either of them." Pomfrey snorted and motioned them to leave.

"You can stay in one of our guest rooms, Algie," McGonagall put her hand gently on his arm. "And tomorrow you can continue this conversation with a bit more privacy."

Neville smiled up at his Great Uncle who smiled back and nodded, "Alright then, lead the way, Minerva!"

"How are you feeling?" Neville looked up at Snape who had backed off some but was still beside the bed.

"Relaxed." He looked at his hands and he could still feel the heat from the older man's on them. This caused him to blush slightly… what did that mean? He put his hands on his stomach and he couldn't even begin to describe how important this life inside of him was becoming to him… he couldn't even explain it. He looked at the older man and smiled. "Thank you… I really mean it…"

Snape looked at him a little uncertainly.

"I just wanted to say that…" Neville yawned and his eyes started to close themselves… "Thanks and… you have really warm hands…"

If he hadn't been sleeping, he would have felt the fingers caressing the side of his face.

XXX


	2. Discoveries

"Severus…" Lupin smiled tiredly, but opened the door to let the black-haired man in.

Snape immediately sat down in the chair he had become accustomed to sitting in. He ran a hand through his hair and looked up at the sandy-haired man in front of him. He couldn't get used to this no matter how many times he had come here…part of McGonagall's punishment was to receive counseling from the werewolf.

He just wasn't used to sharing like this…unless it was with Dumbledore.

"Did something happen?" Lupin took in the man's serious state.

"Longbo-Neville," he had remembered the rule Lupin instated for these sessions, you had to use the person's first name if they were involved, "was attacked by Devil's Snare."'

Lupin's eyes widened.

"He's alright…sleeping." Snape put a hand over his mouth, thinking, "The baby is alright as well but…"

Lupin stayed standing, watching the man in front of him argue with himself. It was times like these he knew better than to talk to Snape.

"Remus…he…he hugged me and was crying…" He moved his hand to his eyes, "He was so worried for the baby that probably isn't even forming yet and…"

"You were shocked." Remus stood in front of the other man and put his hand on the other man's arm. "It's understandable…"

"I held his hand while Poppy was checking to make sure everything was alright." Snape admitted it like a person confessing to a priest.

"Severus…" Remus sighed at the black-haired man's tone.

"I shouldn't be having feelings like this…" Snape moved his hand from his face, "He's going to end up regretting his decision…"

"Well, that's for him to decide now, isn't it?" Remus took a seat in his chair. "At least he isn't pushing you away…or attacking you for that matter."

"He should be…"

"I think that's for him to decide Severus…" Lupin sighed tiredly. "Maybe you should take a break. Cancel your classes tomorrow and see about just relaxing…or maybe you could visit Neville while he's in the infirmary?"

"His Great Uncle just got here." Severus sighed and pulled himself together, he was getting too emotional.

"Did he attack you?" Remus asked with a smirk.

"He didn't even look at me." The black haired man sat back in the chair. "I don't know how much he knows, but it was all in a letter from Neville."

"Then he knows as much as Neville's told him." Remus nodded. "I still think you should take tomorrow off, if his Uncle didn't seem too upset, he probably won't be staying very long anyway. You should try to talk to him again."

"I-I can't." Severus sighed shaking his head and stood up. "But I think I might talk to Minerva about tomorrow."

"Good." Remus smiled and stood up walking to the door with the other man. "And Severus…please try to forgive yourself."

Snape snorted.

XXX

"I see," Algie nodded and put one of his large hands over his nephew's stomach. "So that's about four weeks then?"

"Yes, sir." Neville nodded, "I've been reading about it too."

"Does anyone else know?"

Neville hesitated and bit his bottom lip. "Yeah… Hermione, the girl that was here last night. She knows and she's been helping me."

"Good. I wouldn't want you not to have anyone here you can rely on. Though you know you can always owl me." His Great Uncle seemed hesitant and stopped smiling slightly. "Neville, you've really thought about this?"

"Yes, sir." Neville looked down at his hands. "It wouldn't be right any other way."

"How does Professor Snape feel about this?" Neville's hands tightened together, he hadn't really spoken to Snape about it. He hadn't really spoken to the professor at all.

"H-he told me that it was my body," Neville offered but then noticed Algie's expression. "W-we really haven't had time to talk about it, but he's right, it's my body and I want to keep it."

"Neville, I think what you're doing is a good thing. I really do." Algie sighed, looking at the teen in front of him. "I just want to make sure you're going to be alright. Will you write me even if you think it's ridiculous?"

Neville smiled at his uncle. "I will…but I still don't want Gran to know just yet."

"You know I don't think that is a wise decision." Algie sighed.

"You know it'll be bad either way." Neville mumbled, "Well, when she finds out about this, I might as well come all out and tell her I'm a poofter too. Don't worry; I'll think of something if it comes down to that." He glared at his hands.

"Neville…" Algie leaned over and gave the boy a side-along hug. "She might not have the reaction you think."

"I'll write you with updates." Neville hugged him back lightly. "And if she does find out, I know everything will still work out."

"That's the way to think; now I want you to do two things before you write back to me."

"Yes?"

"First, I want you to talk to Professor Snape about this, and I mean really talk about it and, two, I want you to research the Praegnan Lilly." Neville looked at the older man questioningly, but nodded nonetheless. His Great Uncle smiled at him before turning to leave.

Neville sighed as the door shut. It was nice to be able to talk about it with family, but he wondered what his parents would think. Would they be okay with this? He looked down at his hands, he was sure they would enjoy his decision.

Praegnan Lilly? He hadn't heard of that before… he wondered if Professor Sprout would know. He thought of the Devil's Snare in the greenhouse three and wondered if it had been handled already. Today was also supposed to be his first day back in Potions…

"How are you feeling, Mr. Longbottom? " Madame Pomfrey came out of her office, smiling at him with a dish of food in her hands. "Your Uncle didn't want to stay for breakfast?"

"He had to get back to his house. Apparently he is trying to breed some things that he shouldn't." Neville smiled as she sighed and handed him the dish.

"Well, I want you to rest today and I'll be by later to check up on you… Then we can decide where you are going to eat your lunch."

He looked down at plate of food, realizing how hungry he was.

"Neville?" He looked up to see Hermione peek her head through the closed doors of the infirmary. When she saw he was awake, she slipped in and walked over to him. "Oh good, I wanted to catch you before your Uncle and…"

"He already left." Neville finished the roll he was eating and she gave him a face as if to say, 'well?'. "It's alright. He was fine with everything from my letter, he just wanted to see for himself. He promised not to tell my Gran."

She nodded approvingly and sat down in the chair his Uncle had just left. "So everything is alright then?"

"So far." Neville nodded drinking, some milk.

She nodded, but then looked like she wanted to say something. She opened her mouth, but then blushed and closed it, waiting for him to finish eating his breakfast.

"Hermione." He groaned, "Just spit it out." She flustered.

"Professor Snape is the father?" She looked up to him questioningly.

Neville looked down at his hands again…he could tell her…it was alright. She already knew everything anyway. "Yeah, he's the father."

"But!"

"We had an accident during my detention." Neville stopped her from going any further. "Remember when I showed up covered in that potion?"

"And blood." She added grimly. "It was a potions accident? So you mean you two didn't…" She blushed brightly and looked down.

Neville faltered a bit…how was he supposed to answer that? He really didn't want people thinking that… It really hadn't been in either of their controls…

"No, we didn't. It was just the potion and then there was blood…you know…"

Her eyes widened, but she nodded. "Sorry."

"It's alright, I don't even think he knows about my… well, you know…" Neville wondered what the older man would say about the crush he had developed.

"Oh Neville." Hermione sniffed. "You never know…it might work out…"

Neville smiled and nodded but suddenly his stomach gave a lurch. He put his hand over his mouth and jumped out of the bed, running over to the nearest cleaning bucket and proceeded to puke out his breakfast.

"Oh God…" He moaned, holding on to the bucket, "Oh God…"

"Neville…" Hermione was behind him rubbing circles on his back, "Oh poor Neville, is this the morning sickness already?"

He decided that he really didn't want to know.

XXX

"Devil's Snare? Wicked!" Dean Thomas hit Neville on the back as he passed the other teen. Apparently the rest of Hogwarts had gotten the idea that he had defeated some kind of Devil's Snare monster crossbreed or something, not that he cared how exaggerated it was.

"Man, we were really worried when you didn't come to dinner, but we're glad you're okay." Ron nodded looking a little grim, "I hate Devil's Snare." This made Neville raise an eyebrow but he looked over at Harry who had the same expression.

"First year, with the Quirrell incident." Hermione mumbled over to him before giving him a glance. "You didn't tell me you were there for wrestling with a plant."

"Why else would he need to go to the infirmary?" Ron snorted, not noticing the looks Neville and Hermione gave each other.

"She probably thought I fell down the stairs or something." Neville tried to sound indignant as Ron and Harry laughed. "So how were classes today?"

"Meh…oh! Potions was cancelled today." Ron brightened up. "Maybe Snape, that git, got sick or something."

Neville sincerely hoped not.

"I heard he was poisoned." A second year looked over at them.

"Did we ask you, little person?" Ron looked at her and she blushed, turning away. "Kids these days…"

"Ron, that was uncalled for!" Hermione hissed at him. "I seriously doubt he was poisoned anyway." She had turned to the group of second years the girl came from. "He could probably make the antidote right away anyway."

"Are you praising him?" Ron sounded flabbergasted.

"Uh…" Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Oh, Neville!" They all turned to see Ginny walking over to them looking confused, "Um, I just saw Professor Snape and he said he was looking for you. Did you do something?"

"It was probably his Devil's Snare you destroyed." Dean mumbled and Harry laughed.

"Oh. Yeah, probably." Neville stood up hesitantly, trying to laugh with the guys. "I guess I'll see you guys later."

"This really isn't his year, is it?" Ginny sat in the spot Neville left. "First he was sick and he's already spent half of his time here in the hospital wing…"

"And now the morning sickness…" Hermione mumbled, silently agreeing.

"What was that?" Ginny looked at her, confused.

"Oh, I was wondering what Snape would want." She blushed and looked over at the picture Dean was drawing.

XXX

"Hello, Professor." Neville was shocked to see Snape standing outside of the Gryffindor common room entrance. It was a sight he couldn't recall in all of his years at Hogwarts.

"Ah, Mr. Longbottom, please come with me." And Snape started heading down the stairs with Neville following him. Snape's voice even seemed to be back to normal. Neville watched as the man did not change his expression even after he yelled at some first years and took away their flying whisbee.

Well, this was going to work out. His uncle had wanted him to talk to Snape, and he was about to get a chance… or was he? Did something else happen? Neville tried to think of the possibilities and barely stopped in time to not run over the Professor who had stopped suddenly. The older man looked around the hallway and then walked into an empty classroom, Neville followed him closely.

"Professor, what…"

"I just thought that maybe you and I should talk." Snape sighed; he really hated taking Remus' advice. Really, really hated it.

"I was thinking that too." Neville leaned against the teacher's desk.

Snape watched the teen and seemed to be waiting for Neville to start this 'talk' they were supposed to be having.

"You first." Neville nodded his head at him while messing with his sleeve; he really didn't want to be the one to start what was probably going to be an awkward conversation.

"How are you feeling?" Snape asked, still looking as blank as ever.

Neville smiled slightly.

"Okay considering… probably not so well in the morning." Neville didn't really want to think about it but he saw the look Snape gave him. "Morning sickness…"

"Already?" That made the man raise an eyebrow… Well it really wasn't that early for it to be starting. Neville nodded.

They were both silent for a while.

"How did your Uncle take it?"

Neville bit his lip but nodded, "He's agreed to help me keep it from my Gran for the time being, but I don't know how much time that gives me. He's not very good at keeping secrets, especially not from my Gran."

"She wouldn't want you to keep the baby?" Snape asked, watching the teen sit fully on the desk as he looked down at his robes and proceeded to dust off a small spot. He didn't know if that question might have been too personal.

"No way." Neville snorted, "But don't worry, I think I might try to distract her with other things."

"Such as?" Snape lips twitched, obviously amused, and Neville blushed. Well it wouldn't be that big of a deal if Snape knew.

"I'm gay." Neville looked at the floor then, deciding he didn't really want to see his Professor's reaction to that… He wondered idly if Snape would want him to get rid of the baby now. He prayed to Merlin that it wouldn't be the case.

"That's really not a big deal in the wizarding community." Neville looked over, surprised, at the older man who just shrugged. "Which would she take worse?"

"Hmmm. Probably the pillow biting, but I still don't really know. She had her plans laid out for me and slowly year by year I destroy them." He glared at the ground.

"You should make your own decisions anyway. It shouldn't matter what other people are thinking… Longbottom, even after the war you still can't stand up to her?"

"She's to me what Voldemort was to Harry." He snorted but smiled when Snape's lips twitched.

"Decide things for yourself. Don't let anyone make you do something you disagree with.…" Snape looked at the teen beside him. "Listen, I'm not good at this. And I lie and break promises and other things but if I can… and if you need it… I will try my best to help you."

Neville blushed. "Well… how do you feel about this?" He looked down at his hands again… he really wanted to know.

"I…" Snape closed his mouth and cursed mentally. He wasn't expecting that, but he figured honesty wouldn't hurt in this situation. "I don't know."

Neville nodded, understanding; it was a pretty big deal and he still didn't know how he felt about it himself. "But you don't mind helping?"

"I was a Slytherin, Mr. Longbottom, I do not offer anything I cannot give." Snape crossed his arms. Okay, so this talking wasn't that bad.

"Well okay then." Neville nodded but looked over at his Professor. "No crazy ex's I'm going to have to hide from?"

"No." Snape said assuredly. "And I guess as long as I don't have to wrestle Devil's Snare…"

Neville snorted, then covered his face blushing.

"Listen Long… Neville…" Snape made sure his tone was serious and the boy looked at him. "You're really not going to regret this?"

"I hope not." Neville shrugged honestly. He didn't want to think about how his name sounded with that voice.

"I should probably let you know, your class schedule is changing." Snape stood up and took his teacher tone.

"Huh?" Neville didn't ask for any changes…

"Well, after the Devil's Snare incident, several of the Professors feel that their classrooms are no longer fit for well… someone in your condition." Snape coughed slightly at that. "McGonagall is going over with some of them now how to change your curriculum but keep you up for your NEWTs."

"You don't feel the same as them?"

"Mr. Longbottom, if you expect me to believe you can make a perfect potion before this year is out, then you need as much time in the dungeons as you can get."

XXX

"Are you going to be okay?"

Neville groaned over his porcelain throne, thankful to any god that had let him make it in time. "I'm dying…"

Harry laughed slightly. "Do I need to get anyone for you?"

"No, I should be good." Neville shook his head and grumbled, "I'll probably be late to Charms…"

"I'll let Professor Flitwick know." Harry patted Neville on the back before leaving the bathroom.

"Don't need anyone to hold your hair for you?" Neville laughed at Ron's voice and sighed. He wouldn't be able to get used to this.

There was no way he had enough in him to be puking this much without giving up a liver or something.

He wiped his mouth as the nausea slowly faded. He needed to take a shower now. He grabbed a towel and took a quick shower. He stopped in front of the mirror. There was no way he could picture himself with a pregnant stomach… He hadn't started showing yet and he was very thankful for that.

He put his uniform on and as he grabbed his robes, there was a knock on the door. "Neville?"

"Come in, Professor Lupin." Neville smiled as the man walked in and nodded at him. He was holding a piece of paper.

"Wow, this brings back memories." Lupin looked around the dorm room before settling his eyes on Neville. "Well, let's get down to it."

"The Professors are worried about how their classes are going to affect me." Neville sniffed but smiled slightly at Lupin's surprised face.

"Did someone already come by?" he asked, eyeing the teen.

"No… umm… Professor Snape told me last night to expect this." Neville looked at the ground.

"Ah." Lupin nodded. "Well yes, after the greenhouse incident, a lot of professors don't want you in a dangerous environment, and understandably so. Professor McGonagall probably never told you this, but most students who had become impregnated during a school year were usually sent home."

Neville's eyes widened; no, he didn't know that.

"I suspect she hopes for Snape to become a participant in the pregnancy with you, so she allowed you to stay." Lupin continued, "Well to get on with it, here's your new schedule."

Neville took the new piece of paper and looked down at it.

"Most of these look like study halls…" He looked up at the teacher.

"Well, you will still be participating in most classes; any of the ones that the professors think you shouldn't be in, you'll spend in a study hall. Also, I should say that Professor Sprout has been very upset about the incident."

Neville looked down and saw that Herbology wasn't even on the list. "Oh, she has got to be kidding me."

"Understand that most of the plants she had planned for your year are rather dangerous, violent or even poisonous…" Lupin watched the boy contemplate.

"I think I'm going to talk to her about doing different projects. I mean, I still have those seeds I'm waiting to see what they grow into." Lupin smiled at the teen. "I'll try to talk to her after my classes today… Was there anything else, professor?"

"Actually…" Lupin sat on the end of Harry's bed, looking at the ground. "I know you've probably been asked this a lot lately… but was there anything you wanted to talk about?

Neville suddenly felt very happy that Lupin was asking him that; it wasn't that he really had anything on his mind, but Lupin was being so nice. He sniffed.

"Are you alright? Did something happen?" Lupin was looking at the teen with worry as Neville tried to wipe the tears from his eyes. Neville shook his head vigorously and started cursing.

"Sorry, Professor, I can't seem to, you know… stop." Neville put his hands over his eyes, "I've been alright, Hermione's been helping me deal with a lot of this stuff and…"

"Miss Granger knows?" Neville swore again.

"Y-yeah she knows… but it's okay, she's…"

"It's alright, Neville." Lupin laughed lightly and was glad that the kid got his tears to stop. "It's good to have people help you through this. Does anyone else know?"

"Well, between throwing up and these mood swings… I think Harry and Dean might start thinking something's up… No hope for Ron though." Neville laughed, "Probably just thinks I'm going mental and all."

"You know you could tell them." Lupin messed up the teen's hair with his hand. "And I'm afraid to tell you… I was told the mood swings get worse."

"Oh God." Neville sniffed, "Don't tell me that… I hate crying… Makes me think I'm a first year all over again."

"It's alright, just take a deep breath and don't worry about it." Lupin waited for the teen to pull himself together. "Do you want to go ask Madame Pomfrey about what you could do for the morning sickness?"

"Yeah, I guess…" Neville looked at his schedule, "Then I'm going to be going around school and talking to all of these professors…" he stopped. "And you too…" he glared over at the werewolf, "I'm not an invalid, you know."

Lupin smiled that smile that Neville was really starting to not like. "I know, Neville. I was just going to have you sit out on days when we're wrestling pixies or maybe testing jinxes on each other. You really shouldn't be stressing your body out."

Neville glared but nodded, "I don't know how you all expect me to pass my NEWTs if I can't even participate in class."

"We'll think of something, hmmm?" Lupin smiled and got up. "Want me to walk with you to the hospital wing?"

"No, it's alright," Neville grabbed his bag and started putting his books in it for the day. "I'll see you later, Professor."

"Oh and Neville, there was something I wanted to ask." Lupin looked uncomfortable and Neville was almost worried about what it could be. "Could you… I mean, well I was wondering if you could give Professor Snape some time…"

"Professor, wha…"

"I was just asking." Lupin raised his hand to stop Neville. "I want you to know that he's been thinking hard about you and the baby. Just give him time…"

"O-okay." Neville didn't really know how he felt about Lupin asking him that, but nodded nonetheless. Lupin smiled and left the room. Neville sighed, picked up his bag and made his way down to the deserted common area … Everyone was probably eating breakfast.

His stomach let him know that it was hungry too, which was understandable, Neville thought, but he didn't know if he wanted to be eating anything any time soon.

Neville stopped halfway to the Hospital Wing and looked around. He had heard people talking… but he didn't see anyone. He heard the noise again… It was two people whispering to each other; both voices sounded very familiar. He looked down over the stairwell and was surprised to see Ron and Draco Malfoy whispering harshly at each other… It was a surprise because they weren't yelling or dueling.

Neville noticed both of them were blushing… and was it just him or were Ron's lips a little swollen. He pulled back, hoping they hadn't seen him looking. What was that all about? No way, Neville shook his head and continued on his way; maybe he was just seeing things.

Or maybe something had happened and… Neville couldn't think of a good reason, but he guessed that it was something that wasn't any of his business and walked into the Hospital Wing, deciding to ignore it for the time being.

XXX

"What is that?" Hermione looked at the pot Neville was holding. It was a very small pot that could be held in one hand, but it was just full of soil, she didn't see a plant in there.

Neville looked around and saw that no one was paying attention. "It's a Praegnan Lilly." He had to admit he was slightly surprised at the blank look she had given him… Then again, he hadn't heard of it either. "Come upstairs, I'll explain it to you."

He grabbed his Charms essay he had been working on and passed a group of third years playing Exploding Snap. "Oh, Neville, thanks for the help on my essay about Bubotuber." Neville smiled at a fourth year boy who was coming down the stairs.

"You really help a lot of people with their Herbology." Hermione smiled at the kid that passed and then entered the seventh year's boy's dorm.

"Well, I mean if they ask…" Neville blushed slightly. "I like finding excuses to talk about Herbology anyway."

"Okay, so explain the pot." Hermione pointed at the small pot.

Neville looked around his room and saw that it was empty. "It's a Praegnan Lilly, a plant that can only grow if it's in the presence of someone who is pregnant."

"Oh." Hermione's eyes widened.

"Yeah well, Professor Sprout really didn't want me near the greenhouses after… you know… So she's promised to take care of my seedlings and this is my special project." He held up the little pot, a little excited. "I don't know if it will work since I'm a guy, but it's a little exciting, isn't it? Even Professor Sprout has never seen one before because not that many pregnant women feel like taking care of a plant and we had to special order the seed from Bulgaria."

"That's really exciting." Hermione looked at the pot with a little more enthusiasm. "So why do you need to be pregnant for it?"

"Well that's the thing." Neville looked at the pot and sat it beside his bed before sitting on it. "I don't really know. I couldn't find anything about it in my text books… You think you could ask Krum?"

Hermione blushed but nodded. "Of course." Neville smiled, she and the Bulgarian had been going steady now and she had even went over and visited him after the war.

"Has he met your parents yet?" Neville yawned and laid down on his bed.

"He's coming over for Christmas," Hermione smiled and sat down on Neville's bed. "Oh… I'm really nervous."

"It'll be good." Neville nodded reassuringly. "I think I might stay here for Christmas this year though." He looked around his dorm.

"What about visiting…" Hermione looked down at her hands.

"My parents?" Neville put his hands behind his head. "I know... and I really miss them, but by Christmas I'll probably be showing and my Gran will figure it out and she might try and get me put into St. Mungo's, then I couldn't get back to school."

"Well, then maybe you can visit them after the baby is born." Hermione patted his stomach. "It'll be really exciting."

"Yeah." Neville yawned again. "Man, I'm getting tired a lot more lately."

"Are you taking the vitamins Madame Pomfrey gave you?" Hermione looked around for a sign of them.

"Yeah." Neville lifted up his pillows to reveal his vitamins and books about pregnancy. Hermione looked at him, surprised. "I'll admit I stopped reading the books when it got to bladder problems."

"Neville." She shook her head with a sigh.

"Couldn't you just tell me… if something else happens… whether it's normal?" Neville laughed. "I really don't think I should be reading these things, they scare me."

"What scares you?" They both jumped as Ron entered the room and then looked at them both on Neville's bed. "What's going on here?" He gave them a smirk.

"We were talking about an interesting book I found and…" Hermione smiled at Neville when Ron snorted and walked over to his bed, deciding to ignore them.

"You and books." Ron scoffed. "You need to get a boyfriend."

"Like you have any room to talk," Hermione huffed with a blush, "I don't see you walking around with a girlfriend."

Ron blushed and Neville thought about seeing the ginger talking to Draco Malfoy earlier that day. No way… Neville shook his head; he had to accept he was going to be the only shirt lifter in his year.

But it was hard to deny when he could have sworn Ron mumbled something along the lines of 'what you think' and 'blond idiot'.

Neville never had a chance to really think about it though because he had fallen asleep.

XXX

Everything was going really well as he went into his sixth week. He was still throwing up every morning, but he didn't feel as bad afterwards with the vitamins Madame Pomfrey had given him. His mood seemed to also have stabilized, for which has was grateful.

Classes weren't as bad as he thought they would be; the teachers were pretty good at making excuses for him to leave the room if they had decided that their lessons were too dangerous. The problem was the Slytherins who had noticed and started catcalling at him or suggesting that the teachers didn't think he should even try for their NEWTs.

They were easy enough for him to ignore; what wasn't easy were the new rumors flying around the school about him and Hermione. Apparently Ron had said something about her being in Neville's bed and some underclassmen had heard it and started talking.

And that wasn't even the worse part. It seemed everyone in the school all had different opinions on who he was dating. Ginny Weasley and Luna Lovegood were his other two prospects and Neville groaned every time someone asked him about it.

And a lot of girls started calling him three-timer and leaving him rather nasty notes that he didn't mind sharing with his dorm-mates as they all talked about how crazy girls were. But even with all of these rumors, Neville wasn't allowed to tell anyone that Harry was dating Ginny and Dean was dating Luna, which is why the girls visited so much in the first place.

Luna was startled to find out she had two boyfriends and apologized to Neville for spending most of her time with Dean.

"Luna, we aren't dating," Neville groaned, watching Hermione and Ginny walk around the room giggling to themselves. He really wondered why he denied the rumors since it was obvious none of them were helping.

"True… I always thought you liked boys, Neville." Her dreamy voice seemed to stop time. He choked on his cup of water. "You don't like Dean, do you?"

"No, I…" Neville looked over at Hermione who was looking at Luna quizzically. Ginny had her hand over her mouth in surprise.

"I knew it!" she squealed and Neville flinched. "Oh my goodness…"

"May I ask how you guys came to this?" Neville frowned at them. If Luna Lovegood had figured it out…

"See, he's not denying it." Luna smiled at Ginny. "I guess I owe you a galleon."

He hit his head with his hand and sat back on his bed. "Any more bets I should know about?" he moaned.

"Nope." Ginny smiled, "So what's it like?"

"If I have to explain to you what's it like to like boys, then I'm going to start wondering about you." Neville growled and Ginny blushed furiously.

"Oh Neville…" Hermione sat on his bed again. "Well maybe these rumors are a good thing if you really don't want anyone to know about it." He ran his hands through his hair as he sighed against his pillows.

"Well actually…" Everyone turned to look at Luna. "The school paper is putting in an article on how Neville swings both ways… They interviewed me."

"Wha..." Neville choked.

"You never told me that!" Ginny laughed hysterically and Neville rather wished she would leave. "Man, that's flattering, Neville! You can get anyone you want!"

"This can't get any worse…" Neville grumbled into his pillow.

"I wouldn't say that… My father said that there have been a lot more Narlspurts out this time of year and that's really not a good thing."

Everyone watched as Luna smiled at them and then started looking around the room again before the door swung open and Ron came in with a busted lip looking angrier than Neville had seen him in a long time.

"Ron!" Hermione seemed to shake him out of his stupor and he looked around at all the girls in the room. Harry came in quickly.

"That stupid little ferret." The black-haired teen grumbled. "You alright, Ron?"

"Yeah…" Ron looked down at Ginny, "You know this really isn't helping Neville with those rumors…"

"I know." She looked at her hands. Ron growled again but went into the bathroom.

"What happened?" Hermione looked at Harry, who was smiling down at Ginny now that Ron was out of the room.

"Malfoy just up and punched Ron." Harry looked at little confused but still angry. "We were just walking past and then he punched him… There was no reason behind it."

Hermione gave him a look that said she didn't believe them, but was startled by the sudden snore beside her. She looked to see that Neville had fallen asleep again.

"He's been doing that a lot lately." Harry nodded over at Neville, "I don't see why, he's sleeps more than the rest of us…"

"Is Neville sleeping again?" Ron came out looking better than he had and gave a worried glance over at Neville. "I'm worried about him… He's looked different lately…"

"He's glowing." Luna nodded, but everyone shook their head laughing, not hearing Hermione's cough.

XXX

Neville wiped his mouth and steadied himself against the bathroom stall. He groaned and hoped that this part would be over soon, he didn't know how much more he could take of this. He left the stall and rinsed his mouth out at the sink.

He stopped when he heard hurried whispers coming from the room. Normally the guys would just go on to breakfast and he would meet them down there… Were they still there? Did something happen? He looked into the room and saw them all whispering to each other.

He coughed slightly, trying to let them know he was there. All of them looked up, startled.

"Is… there something wrong, guys?" He noticed how Harry and Dean seemed to be disagreeing with Ron. The black-haired teen pushed Ron toward Neville.

"We… were wondering what's up, Neville?" Ron looked at the floor, obviously not liking this confrontation. Neville paled slightly and felt a wave of nausea hit him and he had to the grab the wall. Ron was beside him in a second, helping him over to the bed.

"See…" Ron made sure Neville was okay before sitting at the end of the bed. "You've been getting sick every morning… and you're tired all the time. At first I thought you must have caught a bug, but it seems to be getting worse, doesn't it? Not to mention you're eating a lot more too…"

Neville put his hands over his face. It had to be Ron, didn't it.

"I don't know how to explain it, but yesterday Luna was right… I just didn't notice right away… but you are glowing and… and you look a lot like my aunt did…" Ron bit his lip.

"Your aunt?" Neville coughed a bit and looked over at Harry and Dean who were listening to them.

"Yeah… but… you know… when she was…" Ron flustered, obviously not wanting to say it. "I must be crazy, Neville, but are you… pregnant?" his voice squeaked slightly at the last part, but Neville couldn't bring himself to look at any of them at the moment.

Ron… the thickest kid in the history of Hogwarts… and he figured it out?

"This is ridiculous, Ron, you know guys can't get pregnant," Dean snorted and Harry nodded with him. Neville thought about it, he could tell them… they would help him… hopefully. Neville swallowed, ignoring how tight his throat had gotten.

"He's right." He didn't look up, but took to counting the freckles on Ron's hand that was on the bed. He heard them splutter. "I am… you know…"

"Are you really?" Ron seemed amazed, and then suddenly put his hand on Neville's stomach very gently. This made Neville smile. "How far…"

"Almost seven weeks, I guess…" Neville shrugged but looked over to Harry and Dean who had gone silent. They were looking at him like he had grown another head. He might as well keep going…

"Look, I can't tell you everything , but I am pregnant and I've decided to keep the kid. You don't have to agree with me or anything, I just ask if you could help me keep this quiet… you know…" He looked back down at the bed.

"Neville…" It was Harry this time. "Why didn't you tell us? I mean… we could've helped. I don't know how, but we can now… if you want it…"

"What's it like?" that was Dean and Neville laughed slightly.

"I honestly can't find words for it yet… I know I'm pregnant… but I just don't feel it yet… You know, other than the morning sickness and stuff…" They all laughed. "Listen…I feel like I should tell you guys… since you know….but… I'm…"

Neville swallowed hard, he didn't think it would get any easier to tell people this. "I'm gay."

The room was silent for a second.

"Neville…" Dean gave the teen a smile, "I don't know how to tell you this…but we kind'a figured."

"Oh." Neville looked at them, surprised, not really knowing what to say to that, but then Ron laughed.

"Oh, come on… give me the name of one guy who likes flowers as much as you." He snorted and they all started laughing.

"There are several male herbologists…" Neville defended, trying to catch his breath.

"And well, you know… Seamus wasn't really ever quiet about who he had snogged with." Dean smiled and they all thought about their old roommate.

"You guys knew?" Neville blushed, thinking about his first male kiss. Well, he and Seamus had gotten into a supply of Fire Whiskey.

Ron snorted, "Seamus really liked bragging… and snogging." They all laughed quietly and then looked at the empty corner of the room where his bed would have been. It was tough.

"Mate…" Harry sat at the end of Neville's bed now. "Seriously, tell us what we can do to help… you know, other than the secret thing."

"Give me patience because I think I'm going to start crying again." Neville sniffed. He didn't know what set it off this time, but he could feel it coming. "Seriously, this is getting ridiculous… I should try selling my tears on the market or something if I'm going to keep making them this often."

"I could ask Fred and George about that." Ron laughed before patting Neville's back. "Man, at least you're not violent. My aunt would throw stuff at any male in the vicinity."

"I get options?" Neville sniffed, trying to keep the tears back as the guys laughed.

"Hey, this could be an experience for all of us." Dean laughed, "Like… life training for our future wives… except it's Neville."

"Three husbands… couldn't help yourself, could you?" Harry shook his head jokingly.

"As if you guys were my type." Neville snorted playfully. "I like them older…"

"Speaking of which," Ron looked at him quizzically, "How? Or who's the real dad?"

Neville sobbed slightly at this… he really didn't want to tell them. "I-I can't share that with you right now…"

"Shhhh…." Ron was suddenly beside him, rubbing his back, "Sorry, mate. Breathe…"

"You know…" Dean looked at them, "This would be really awkward to explain if someone just wal…"

"No time for knocking, please be decent!" All of them watched as Hermione came running into the room and closed the door behind her, holding a piece of paper in her hand.

"Hermione!" Harry and Ron both shouted indignantly and Ron quickly jumped on the bed to try and block Neville from view who was rubbing his face.

She took in the scene in front of her and looked over at Neville who smiled slightly and shrugged. "You told them? Everything?"

"Okay so this doesn't get confusing…" Neville raised his hand up to get all of their attentions. "Everyone in this room knows I'm pregnant and gay… Yes?"

"Hermione knows?" Ron looked flabbergasted.

"God… Yes, Ron! I know…" She opened up the paper she was holding. "You guys didn't come to breakfast, so I thought you should see this before you go to class."

They looked at the paper that had the title of 'Hogwarts Press'- it was a student paper that some of the underclassmen were trying to establish. Mainly Collin Creevy. The headline read 'Gryffindor's Room of Sin' and underneath it in slightly smaller print, it read, 'Neville Longbottom's Harem'.

"What?" Harry jumped up and grabbed the paper, immediately scanning through it.

"It mainly just says that all of us are seeing Neville…" She paused, making sure to point at everyone and herself, "and Ginny and Luna."

"Ha… Dean look at this…" Harry pointed at the paper, laughing a little and then in a whispery-doe voice much like Luna Lovegood, said, "I didn't know that Neville was my boyfriend… Does that mean I have two? Does that mean Dean's dating Neville too? I would be okay with that you know…" And then he stopped because he was laughing too hard to continue.

"Oh Luna…" Dean sighed, but all of them looked up as Hermione coughed.

"Class… about to start…." She looked over at Neville, "Are you going to be alright?"

Neville laughed and nodded, "Just let us all get decent from our recent activities of sin… We'll meet you down in the common room in a second."

They all laughed and started getting ready for class. Neville was glad he had stopped crying and laughed at the paper one more time before leaving the room. He was glad no one really took the school paper seriously.

"Whoo whoo!" All of the boys stopped at the catcalls coming from down the stairs. Neville flustered and kept going.

"Dang, Neville…is it true?"

"Can I join next time?"

"Do you mind if I ask Ginny ou…" There was a thud and Neville looked back to see that Ron had whapped the fifth year on the head.

"Don't get full of yourself," Ron growled, "and you all wish you were in his harem too." He sniffed and straightened his uniform before strutting the rest of the way to the portrait, earning more catcalls and laughter. Neville laughed and followed after him.

Walking through the school wasn't as bad as Neville thought it would be. He definitely got more attention than usual, but he guessed it was mainly because his dorm-mates and Hermione were walking around him like body-guards, and then Harry and Dean got into a play-fight in front of some second year girls over who would carry Neville's bag.

He ended up giving it to Ron so that they could go on and get to class and left the applauding and giggling girls.

"What a sight." Neville and Ron stopped at the doorway to Transfigurations as they saw Draco Malfoy coming from behind them looking rather stiff. "Carrying your boyfriend's bag, Weasley?"

Neville quickly took his bag from Ron as the redhead glared at the blonde. "What's it to you Malfoy? Jealous that Neville doesn't give you any attention?"

Neville looked at the two of them and decided he really didn't want to get in between them so he went inside to get out of the tension. Two minutes later, Ron sat beside him looking grumpier than ever and continuously looking back at the doorway.

Slytherins didn't have Transfigurations with Gryffindor.

Neville was finding it hard to pay attention to class while Ron kept looking at the door and mumbling to himself. He couldn't figure out what was going through the redhead's mind… Neville thought Ron had gotten over all of the Malfoy teasing, especially after the war.

At one point, Neville could even recall a moment where he witnessed the two teens laughing with each other while they drew stuff on Harry's face while he was sleeping. Maybe it had been some temporary truce the both of them agreed on for the battles, but even Neville thought it would be hard to resort all the way back to the way it was before.

"Oh!" Neville looked over at Ron who looked… strangely surprised. "The paper…"

"Mr. Weasley, I do suggest you start paying attention to my class." Professor McGonagall was in front of their desk glaring at them. Neville coughed and looked down at the notes he had been taking.

"Yes, ma'am." Ron looked down at the desk, embarrassed. She huffed impatiently and then continued walking around the classroom continuing her lecture. Neville looked over at Ron who was obviously lost in thought again and not listening. He had a hunch.

"Is Malfoy upset about the newspaper article?" Neville whispered softly while watching Professor McGonagall conjure up some rather soft looking chairs. He heard Ron splutter and looked over at the redhead, who was blushing furiously and looking at Neville in utter shock.

Neville had to smirk a little at that. Maybe his theories weren't as far off as he thought. "Ron, with that kind of reaction, it's going to make it hard for you to deny anything later."

"Mr. Longbottom, since this seems to be not worth your attention," Neville winced and looked forward noticing how everyone was looking back at him and Ron, "How about you try conjuring up a chair… silently."

He looked down at his notes quickly and thanked whoever was looking out for him that he had written the incantation down. He stood up slowly and noticed from the corner of his eye that Hermione was waving her wand in jagged motions behind her desk. He took a deep breath and looked over at Professor McGonagall who was watching him closely.

He moved his wand, hoping they were the movements Hermione was making and thought the incantation clearly in his head, but closed his eyes when he was done. He heard someone go "Oh!" and opened one eye to see a blue chair that closely resembled the one that sat in his Gran's den… or would have, but it only had three legs… Thankfully they were spread evenly and it almost looked like the chair was supposed to only have three legs.

"Very good, but please pay attention from now on." Neville sat down quickly at her words and glared over at Ron. It was his fault for distracting him in the first place, but the redhead was now giving Neville a calculating look. The sandy-haired teen sighed before turning his attention back to the class… He really didn't want to get in any more trouble with McGonagall.

"Now, Mr. Thomas…"

XXX

Neville watched Snape move across the classroom in strangely hypnotizing movements.

He was finding it harder to concentrate the more he attended class and he couldn't understand it for the life of him. Sure he had a crush on the older man… but last time he checked, it was just a small one and mainly for the man's voice… And after the incident, they had finally gotten to an understanding. He watched the man yell at Harry for doing something… He looked down at his potion, which wasn't even near the right color.

He looked over at the redhead and noticed that he looked distracted as well. Following Ron's gaze, he honestly wasn't surprised that he was staring at Draco Malfoy. He watched Draco too; the blond was very good looking… just not really Neville's type. He noticed that even Draco's potion wasn't exactly the right color… Closer than Ron's and his, but definitely off.

Neville suddenly noticed that Snape's voice had stopped and he looked around the room to find him standing in front of his desk. He looked up sheepishly at the blank black eyes staring down at him and then Snape leered over at Ron and with a flip of his wand, their potion vanished.

"20 points from Gryffindor for lack of concentration." Neville noticed Ron had the grace to look sheepish at the glares he was getting from the other Gryffindors. The sandy-haired teen noticed that none of them were looking at him like that… He guessed they were used to it.

"Maybe you should rethink who you spend your time with," Neville looked up to see Malfoy next to Ron sneering, "If Longbottom's rubbing off on you, there's no chance for your NEWTs…"

"Shove off, Malfoy." Ron mumbled and Neville noticed that the ginger looked dejected as the blond walked away.

"Ron…" Neville whispered lowly so that none of the passing classmates could hear him. "Can I talk to you for a bit?"

Ron looked at him questioningly. "Sure, mate…"

"We'll catch up later…" Neville waved at Harry and Hermione who were waiting for them. He smiled and waited for everyone else to leave the class room. He looked around and noticed that even Snape seemed to have slipped out.

"What's the problem?" Ron smiled nervously as he packed his bags.

"What's going on with you and Malfoy?" Neville decided being blunt might be quicker with the ginger no matter what kind of insight he had shown earlier. Ron turned a deep crimson and coughed.

"Wha-what are you talking abo…"

"I saw you guys on the stairs the other day…" Neville moved his hands around. "And now he's acting all strange because of the newspaper article? The one that says you're part of my harem?"

"Ah…" Ron still seemed to be trying to find a way around the subject.

"Listen, I don't care." Neville ran a hand through his hair, "It doesn't matter who you like as long as they make you happy right? Houses and everything else… Well they don't really matter anymore right? I mean after everything we've been through? I'm just saying… if you need help, I'll help you. But please don't let me get between whatever you guys have going… because no offense…" Neville motioned at his still flat stomach. "I'm going to have a lot more to deal with soon."

Ron smiled uncomfortably before nodding and running a hand through his hair. "You… you're right, mate, sorry."

"So what are you guys?" Neville decided he kind of wanted to know; he grinned.

"I don't know… That's kind of what started this… mess." Ron sighed dejectedly. "I just don't know anymore."

"Maybe you should clear things up?" Neville patted the redhead on the back. "Start there… Although I don't honestly see how he could believe this rubbish…"

"I can explain that." Ron sighed again, "But later… I think I might see if I can get him before dinner…"

Neville smiled and watched the redhead leave before getting his books ready to leave.

"That was a nice moment." He stopped as the sarcastic voice oozed through the room. He could feel himself shiver. He looked over at Snape who was sitting at his desk like he had been there the whole time.

"You weren't there before," Neville sniffed idly.

"I would've knocked," Snape offered, "but I didn't see the point."

Neville grinned.

"So he knows?" Neville licked his lips before nodding. He should probably tell Snape who else knew what just in case anything happened.

"Only Hermione knows everything." He looked uncomfortably at the ground, not wanting to see the older man's reaction… if he had one… "The guys…well actually, Ron figured out I was pregnant… That's all they know…"

"Must be a Weasley instinct to recognize if someone's pregnant." The black-haired man snorted, tapping some papers against the desk. Neville shrugged sheepishly with a small grin. "But I guess that's for the better, just in case there was an emergency, they might be able to react with good sense."

"I'll try to be more careful too, sir." Neville nodded, swinging the bag over his shoulder.

"Severus…"

It had been very quiet, but Neville had heard it. His head snapped up and he looked at the Professor who was looking at him blankly once again.

"I think it is only right that you can call me that… when we are alone." The last word had been emphasized slightly and Neville nodded blushing furiously. "You can practice if you need to."

He looked up again and noticed the man was smirking at him and he could feel his face warm up more. "Sev…Severus…"

"Good, Neville," the voice was smooth and silky and Neville realized he should probably leave soon or suffer some strange body reaction overload. "And do be more careful while in my class… If you had added that shredded tree spore like you were about to, let's say the reaction could've rivaled the one you made at the beginning of this year."

"Oh…thank you, Sever-ssor Snape!" Neville jumped as the door opened suddenly and Lupin came walking in. He stopped when he noticed them standing there and seemed to be thinking about the situation.

"Did you just forget to knock or are your Gryffindor tendencies coming back to you?" Snape's sarcastic tone seemed to startle Lupin for a second before he smiled uncomfortably and gave Neville a small grin.

"Sorry, Neville, Severus, I didn't mean to interrupt anything." Neville got the strange impression that Lupin didn't really mean it but shook his head. He didn't know why he was suddenly finding the other man so annoying, but he knew that it was probably because he was tired.

"It's alright, Professor," Neville started before Snape could respond, "I think I'm going to go visit Madame Pomfrey though and have a lie down." He noticed both men change their expressions to looking slightly worried. "Nothing serious! Just tired, and the dorm is a little loud around this time."

"Alright, Neville take care of yourself." Lupin watched him leave, still looking worried.

"And I would suggest putting a stop to your harem later today if you will… I don't think that calls for a healthy environment." Neville blushed furiously at Snape's voice and shut the door behind him, but not before hearing:

"You sound jealous, Severus!"

XXX


	3. A Stolen Moment

XXX

Chapter 3: Stolen Moment

XXX

"Both of you are doing just fine," Madame Pomfrey smiled as Neville got up from the bed. He quickly put his robes back on and she left their little curtained exam area. He had started having checkups for about two weeks and for some reason they always seemed to happen on one of Madame Pomfrey's whims. She had confessed that she had never dealt with a pregnant wizard before and just wanted to check and double check everything.

He was grateful for her and everything she was doing… but there were only so many times he liked to be prodded and poked a week. Although he would never admit it, every time she declared him healthy, he felt more and more relieved. He had been a little worried because he still wasn't showing and he was positive that women started showing before their second trimester, but Hermione had reminded him that not all pregnancies were the same and his would most likely be very different because he was a man.

"I can't believe it's already been 11 weeks!" Madame Pomfrey proceeded her second ritual of babying him, giving him more vitamins, crackers and, well… anything she felt like he needed before he could get through the doors.

Neville sighed, trying to shove all of it into his bag as he made it out of the door. Sometimes he felt like she was more excited about it than he was.

"So how is everything?" he looked up to see Hermione and Ron sitting against the wall… appearing to be waiting for him. He stared at them for a second, not really knowing how he felt about that… It made him feel warm…

"Everything is good, as always." Neville smiled and gave Hermione a hand up as they stood. "I think she just does this because she's fallen for my ruggedness."

"Riight," Ron snorted. "The day someone describes you as rugged is the day someone mistakes me for a Malfoy."

Neville stopped himself from commenting on what Ron could do with Malfoy for all he cared because Hermione was there. The sandy-haired teen had promised to keep it a secret because Ron still didn't know what he was doing… or where his relationship with the blonde was going.

Neville didn't know if he should tell Ron that even though he liked boys, he had never been in a relationship - or probably done as much as Ron and Malfoy had - no matter what the ginger thought. But apparently what had started their fight a few weeks ago was Ron's concern for Neville: Ron thought he had been acting differently and was worried (Neville was trying to keep the fact that he was pregnant a secret from the world) and Ron had apparently voiced it a few times while Malfoy was around…

Neville didn't know how he felt about Malfoy getting jealous. To him, it was a preposterous idea that anyone would be jealous of him. He eyed Ron and wondered if the redhead had realized that Malfoy was being jealous- probably meant he did care in some weird way that Malfoy's cared.

The redhead tripped over his feet mid-step and blushed as Hermione laughed loudly.

No, Ron probably wouldn't figure it out unless Malfoy beat it into him.

"Oh, Neville, I almost forgot." Hermione stopped and started rummaging through her bag. "That lily you have…I asked Krum about it."

"Krum… as in Victor Krum?" Ron looked at her as she turned red but ignored him and grabbed a piece of paper, handing it to Neville.

"The Praegnan Lilly is local to Bulgaria, so I asked her to write him about it." Neville grabbed it as Hermione gave him a grateful look. One day he was just going to have to sit everyone down and tell them all their secrets in one sitting… It would probably make life a little less stressful for him.

"Hn… flowers…" Ron snorted, obviously not satisfied with that reasoning. "Where is it anyway? You used to have it by your side any time we weren't in class."

Neville smiled and pulled his robe open to show them a pocket he had made on the inside to carry it around. "I've been carrying it to classes in this because Professor Sprout said it needs to stay close to me most of the time until it blooms. It works because it's so small anyway." He lifted the little jar out and looked it over… there still wasn't anything sprouting from it.

"You're really excited about that plant, aren't you?" Ron looked at Neville in disbelief as he put the plant back in his jacket along with the letter from Krum, and they continued on their way.

"Herbology to me is your Quidditch." Neville laughed as Ron shook his head.

They made their way up the stairs to get their books for Charms when Neville suddenly felt a strange jolt in his body and everything around him started spinning. He lost his breath for a second, but suddenly there were arms holding him up.

"Neville!" He closed his eyes, trying to ignore the nauseous feeling that was growing.

"Neville, are you alright?" He opened his eyes to see Hermione in front of him looking worried; he looked down at the freckled arms that were holding him up. Ron must have caught him from falling backwards…

"Yeah… just… strange…" He mumbled and stood up a bit shakily. It had been a very weird experience… maybe he should ask Madame Pom… He shook his head, no, that would just make the teachers worry more and then they wouldn't let him attend classes.

"Couldn't you guys have the decency to do that in your room?" Neville pulled away from Ron as Malfoy's condescending tone made its way down the hallway. He looked up and noticed the blond sneering at him, and then noticed how many people were shooting him weird glances.

He hadn't even noticed them there before… maybe he should lie down for a bit.

"Shove off – where are you going, Neville?" Neville huffed, suddenly not really in the mood to be listening to Ron's and Malfoy's half-hearted bickering… or whatever they did. He made his way up the stairs, but as he was passing the blond, there was a jolt again- this time it was the stairs deciding to move. He tried to balance himself, but Malfoy had been caught off-guard too and bumped into him. This time he really was falling backwards and he couldn't grab onto anything.

"Neville!" It was Hermione and he heard a ripping noise but hit his back against the stairs before someone had caught him from rolling down. He hissed in pain and looked up to see Professor Lupin looking at him worriedly.

Then there was loud shouting and he looked up to see Ron and Hermione both yelling at Draco, who seemed a bit startled before he yelled back. Neville noticed the blond had a piece of black cloth in his hand.

"What is going on here?" McGonagall was at the top of the stairs in a second.

"Oh, be quiet, you two." Neville noticed for the first time that Pansy had been with Draco through the whole ordeal. "It's not like he's pregnant or anything." She laughed at that, obviously finding pushing pregnant people down the stairs something hilarious that should be watched.

His breath hitched.

Malfoy's eyes were wide… He stared at Ron for a second and then looked down at Neville. Lupin was suddenly pulling him to his feet, and he held onto the professor for support.

"Longbottom's pregnant?" Neville flinched at the sudden way the stair area became silent at Malfoy's tone.

"That's enough…" It was McGonagall who seemed to have composed herself from seeing Neville lying on the stairs to Malfoy figuring it out. "All of you…in my office now."

Neville winced as he put some weight on his right leg. He must have turned it awkwardly while falling.

"Minerva, I'm taking Mr. Longbottom to the hospital wing; it seems he's hurt his leg." Lupin's voice was at his ear and the woman nodded before taking off to her office being followed reluctantly by Ron, Hermione, Malfoy and a very startled Pansy.

"Can you walk?" He looked up at the werewolf who was looking at him worriedly. Neville suddenly felt bad for getting annoyed at the professor even though he couldn't figure out why he had felt that way before. He nodded but hissed as he put weight on his leg.

"Alright then." And before Neville had time to protest, he was lifted bridal style into the teacher's arms. He covered his face with his hands, not wanting anyone to see him like that but then noticed his sleeve was torn.

His mind went blank as he looked at it. There was a big piece missing. What happened to… His eyes widened as he remembered the piece of cloth Malfoy was holding in his hands. Did the blonde try to catch him as he fell? No… it was…

Impossible? No, Ron and Draco getting together had been an impossible idea. A man pregnant was an impossible idea.

"What's wrong?" Neville's head snapped up at Snape's voice. The man was walking quickly over to them with his robes billowing behind him. "I heard students talking…"

Neville froze. The stairs had been incredibly busy with everyone going to class… other people had to have witnessed the exchange. He tried to think of a way around it, but he couldn't come up with anything so he put his hands over his eyes. Everything had been going so well. Maybe no one would believe it… No, he knew how gossip was in this school… everyone lived for strange news.

Now the whole bloody school knew.

"Neville, what's wrong?" He looked up at Lupin who still had a worried expression and he looked over at Snape who was looking blank as usual. He shook his head and put his hands over his eyes again.

"Neville…" It was Snape's voice this time and Neville didn't want to think about how long it would take his Gran to find out now.

"Everyone knows…" he said it as softly as he could, with hope that it wouldn't be true. "And if they don't know right now, they'll all know by tonight…"

Neville was glad that no one spoke after that as all three of them made their way to the hospital wing. His mind was racing on how they could cover it up… or how to make sure his Gran wouldn't find out right away. He hadn't mailed his Great Uncle in a while…

"Professor…" Neville winced as Lupin laid him onto one of the hospital beds. Madame Pomfrey had apparently stepped out for a second and Snape went to go find her. Lupin looked at him, waiting for him to continue. "Could you owl my uncle? Let him know that the whole school is probably going to know soon. I would, but I don't know when I'll get a moment again and he could probably distract my Gran for a little while…"

Remus smiled down at the sandy-haired teen; it was obvious Neville was trying to space out all of the confrontations he was going to have to face, and he wondered idly if it might be easier to face them all at once… but he nodded and gave the teen an encouraging smile. "I don't mind, I had to owl some people anyway."

Neville sighed gratefully; okay, so his Gran would be okay for a while… He bit his thumbnail as the doors burst open with a pale Madame Pomfrey.

"I leave this wing for one moment and of course it's you, Mr. Longbottom." She seemed to be trying to calm herself as she grabbed a tray of tools and walked over to him, moving Lupin to the side. "Fell down the stairs…" she huffed, "one more thing after this and I'm going to make sure you never leave this wing… for class or not."

"I didn't really fall down the…" he started, but she silenced him by shoving him back on the bed with a mild scoff.

He looked over to see that Lupin had gone and Snape was standing there now… almost looking a little lost with nothing to do.

"Severus, be a dear and make sure he stays still for me." Neville watched her turn around and start messing with some stuff on her tray and then saw Snape move around the bed so that he was on the other side of Neville. He smiled uncomfortably up at the older man who had the same expression as usual.

"Your robes ripped." Neville watched the man pick up the sleeve on his right side and then it seemed he was looking around for any more damage, obviously thinking that falling down the stairs shouldn't have caused something like that.

"No… uh… Malfoy tried to keep me from falling… I think…" He blushed slightly and looked away from the older man. He really didn't know if Draco had tried to catch him but he had had his eyes closed…and the cloth in the other teen's hands just seemed to be enough proof for him.

"I see." Neville looked back at the black-haired man to see he had a strange, slightly amused yet smug smirk on his face. He liked it a lot.

"Hold this, Mr. Longbottom." Madame Pomfrey put a jar in his left hand and then paused. "I'm going to unbutton your shirt."

Neville flushed and started to sit up, but was pushed gently back down. He looked up to see Snape, but the man had turned around and wasn't looking at him anymore. Neville flushed even more at the thought of it. Madame Pomfrey's icy-hands unclipped his robes and pushed them apart.

"Oh! Can you get the plant out of the inside pocket?" He just remembered the lily and prayed nothing was wrong with it. She gave him a quizzical look but searched the inside of this robe to pull out the small pot with Krum's letter. Neville gasped… there was a small green sprout inside the pot now.

She put them on the tray beside his bed and then unbuttoned his shirt the rest of the way, but Neville was too distracted by the little green bud growing out of the small pot.

"Is there something wrong with your plant?" Neville looked over to see Snape was looking at the green sprout as well. He must have taken Neville's gasp as bad news; he blushed and shook his head.

"No… it didn't have a sprout before…" he looked back at it… It was a little bigger than he thought it should be considering it had to have just happened.

"Plants grow…" Neville found himself giving the older man a glare before blushing and realizing what he had done.

"I-I know that." He huffed, but then Madame Pomfrey took the jar out of his left hand and he looked at her. He saw her taking blue goo out of it and groaned. This was going to be uncomfortable if she was going to do what he thought she was going to do.

He had only had to have it done once before but apparently the…. blue goo… whatever it was, helped let her know how things were going inside. She had read about it in a magazine.

"You know the routine," she gave him an apologetic nod, "sit back and think of England." Neville flushed at the words but saw her brighten up too. She gave Snape an uncomfortable look, obviously having forgotten the professor was there… and just witnessed her saying that…

"You know what I meant." She didn't look up at Snape again while she rubbed the cold goo on his stomach. Neville shuddered slightly and looked up at the black-haired man who seemed to be trying to find something else to focus on.

He had to admit he felt very silly, laying on a bed with his shirt open and being gooed in front of the older man… but apparently Snape was even more embarrassed with it because Neville noticed his cheeks had gone a light pink and he looked uncomfortable.

He wondered if Snape was thinking about their incident at the beginning of the year. He hadn't been stripped all the way but… he wondered idly how much the older man remembered of it. It would be understandable to feel uncomfortable in this situation, but Neville found himself not wanting Snape to be uncomfortable with it.

"It's supposed to help with knowing what's going on in there." He squirmed slightly as she finished but he pointed at the blue goo on his stomach. Snape looked at him before following his finger and looking at his now slightly blue-tinted flat belly. The older man nodded slightly before returning his gaze to Neville's face.

"How's your leg feeling?" Snape asked him softly, looking down at Neville's right leg.

"I probably just twisted it." Neville was glad for the distraction as the nurse prodded his stomach. "It's really not that bad."

Snape had just nodded but Pomfrey looked up at that. "Hurt your leg? I'll have to look at that next. Really, boy, you should tell me these things first."

Neville sighed and flopped his head against the pillows before huffing at Snape. "Now she'll really want to keep me here overnight."

This made the other man smirk slightly. "I would think you might want to avoid others for as long as you could if they have figured it out."

"Oh." Neville hadn't even thought of it. What was going to happen once everyone figured it out? Would they treat him differently? Sure, his friends had reacted pretty well to it, but they had been through a lot with each other. He bit his lip… would other people think he was some freak? He knew some of the muggle-borns had different views on homosexuality, but what about a man being pregnant? Were they going to treat him like some kind of freak now?

There was a warm hand wrapping around his that startled him out of his thoughts. He looked down at his right hand and saw a pale hand with long fingers wrapped around his. It had surprised him the first time… about how warm Snape's hands had been.

He looked up at the older man, who was giving him a strangely calming glance. He smiled and squeezed the warm hand, thankful for the comfort, when Madame Pomfrey stopped and sighed thankfully.

"Everything is okay." She smiled and handed him a towel to wipe himself off with. He used his left hand but didn't let go of Snape's in his right. "Just be thankful you didn't fall on your stomach, you're probably going to be a bit sore. Mr. Longbottom, I am going to have to stress that you try not to get yourself in these situations, you're already heading into your second trimester and it could have been a lot worse if the baby had been more developed."

He nodded and sat up, sliding back so he could lean against the pillows. "I will be more careful, I had gotten a bit dizzy before the stairs started to switch."

"Maybe I should see about you staying in here instead of your dorms…" She mumbled and headed over to his feet. "Which one?"

"The right." Neville nodded, "But I don't want to leave the dorms, the guys have been very helpful and…"

"It will get harder for you to move around in your last trimester." Pomfrey sniffed before tugging his shoe and sock off; lifting up his pant leg, she inspected his slightly swollen ankle. "A sprain… well, you're staying in here tonight."

"Fine, but I'm not going to live in here…" Neville mumbled, glancing over at the silent black-haired man. "She really can't make me live in here, can she?"

"She can do a lot of surprising things…" was all the answer he got from the professor. "You should probably button up, you feel a bit cold."

Neville flushed as he noticed his shirt was still wide open and reluctantly let go of the man's hand before buttoning up his shirt. He looked up to see that Snape wasn't looking at him again. Suddenly a thought hit him, "Don't you have class with the second years right now Prof… Severus?" He had looked around to see that Pomfrey wasn't in the room - she had gone to her office - he could feel his face warm up incredibly.

"I gave them a fourteen inch essay due by the end of the period on the importance of a bezoar, rather easy, I must say." The man seemed to be thinking if he could add anything to their workload and Neville smiled. Snape had gotten out of class when he heard that something had happened to Neville; he looked down at his hands hoping the professor was still lost in thought while he tried to cool his face off.

"I probably couldn't even write six inches on it." Neville laughed as the other man scoffed. But then there was a gentle cough and both of them looked at Madame Pomfrey and she was giving them both a calculating look. Neville blushed; he had forgotten she was there…

"Professor, do you mind keeping Mr. Longbottom company while I go grab some things from Professor Sprout and run something by the Headmistress?" she gave Snape a soft smile.

"It's alright, I can handle myse-"

"If I must." Snape interrupted Neville with a sigh and the sandy-haired teen wondered if his face would ever stop blushing.

"I'll be back in a jiffy." Neville watched her until the doors closed behind her, leaving Snape and him alone. He stared at his hands for a second before looking up at Snape, who seemed to be looking for something as well.

"Where did she put her chairs…?" The man mumbled slightly before pulling out his wand and with a flick, he conjured a comfy looking black chair. Neville noted it had all four legs.

They both sat in silence for a moment; Neville didn't know what to talk about, so he looked around the empty wing. It had always been empty every time he came in… and considering how many times he had been to see the nurse this year alone, it seemed a bit ridiculous that he would be the only one. He huffed before he saw his plant and the letter from Krum.

He picked the Lilly up gently, inspecting the green sprout before setting it on his leg and picking up the letter. He read over the surprisingly neat script.

Neville bit his lip and re-read the letter.

"Is there something wrong?" He released a breath he didn't realize he was holding and looked over at Snape who was staring at him.

"Ha-have you heard of the Praegnan Lilly?" Neville bit his lip again as he watched the older man think about it.

"Yes, it is a pretty rare herb that is used in more difficult and some dark-potions, why wha-" the black haired man stopped before turning his gaze to the small little pot on Neville's leg. His eyes widened slightly and he leaned forward slightly, inspecting the green sprout. "Is it?"

Neville nodded, licking his suddenly dry lips.

Snape actually seemed at a loss for words as he stared at the plant and then back at Neville again. "I have never actually seen one before." The older man admitted.

"It only grows if it's near someone who is pregnant." Neville looked down at the letter from Krum. "For a proper one, the pregnant person should keep it close to them at all times, I knew that- which is why I was carrying it in my pocket." He added and showed Snape the pocket he created.

"But Krum says that…"

"Victor Krum?" Neville nodded at the teacher's question.

"Yes, I knew the lily was originally of Bulgarian nationality so I asked Hermione to write him for me. Well, he says that most women…" Neville coughed and blushed slightly, "don't really want to have to deal with a plant while they're pregnant which is why it's so rare… because most female herbologists are single anyway. It says here that after the seed accepts the pregnant person, it will start growing along with the baby."

He looked eagerly at the plant… this was very exciting… growing something so rare. He looked at the green sprout and then gasped.

"What is it?" Snape was looking at him a bit worried.

"It's accepted me! That's why it started growing!" Neville grinned eagerly at Snape. "Oh, this is very exciting! I need to tell Professor Sprout and… my Great-Uncle Algie! He'll want to know how it's going… oh and…" Neville stopped when he noticed the older man's expression and blushed again. "Sorry, I got a little excited…"

"No need to apologize," Snape was giving Neville an odd expression he couldn't pin down, but then his long pale fingers lifted up and slid down his face gently. "If you are this excited about it, I bet you are going to be a very good herbologist."

Neville flustered and leaned into the warm hand that was sliding into his hair now. It was the first real compliment he had ever gotten from the other man. "I will do my best to meet those expectations…" Neville sighed contently and turned into the hand sliding his face so that his lips met the wrist.

They both froze. Neville opened his eyes and looked at the older man, who seemed slightly startled. They were both watching each other closely and suddenly they were only inches apart. It took Neville a second to realize that he was leaning forward before he pressed his lips gently against the older man's, taking hold of the hand that had been in his hair only a moment ago.

"You need to apologize!" The doors burst open and they both jumped back. Neville barely had enough time to catch the small pot that had fallen off of his knee when he jumped; Snape's chair hit the floor because he had hit it when he had stood up so abruptly. Neville turned to see Ron and Draco, both looking flustered but more like they had been fighting.

He sighed in relief, hoping that they hadn't noticed anything.

"What was that?" Ron pointed at Snape and then Neville, causing the teen to curse mentally.

"What brings you here, Mr. Weasley? It seems that you and Mr. Malfoy are both of good health?" Snape's cool voice rang through the room.

"Oh, yeah," Ron grabbed Draco's arm and pulled the blonde over to Neville. "It's your bloody fault the whole school knows now."

"So they do…" Neville groaned and hid his face in his hands, letting the plant sit beside him on the bed. "What's it like out there?"

"A bloody mess." Ron snorted, "They all think it's me that… you know…" he blushed and made a rude hand gesture.

"5 points from Gryffindor for that." Snape glared at the red-head. "And what do you mean? Why would they think that?"

Ron glared at the blonde who glared back. "It's not my fault, alright? The last thing anyone witnessed was you holding him up!"

"Because you made a scene about it!"

"Well, it was disgusting!"

"To help someone up the stairs?"

"You were all over him!"

"I was not! You ju-"

"As much as I love to watch you two squabble like a married couple…" Snape glared at the both of them. They both flushed and looked down at the ground.

"So they think Ron knocked me up?" Neville couldn't help but laugh at that. "You both could solve that rumor by snogging in public or something…"

Draco's eyes widened and Ron blushed furiously.

"It would be better than my classroom." Snape snorted and both teens choked.

"Well, what was that…when we came in here?" Draco didn't look at Ron, but this time glared at Snape. Neville was surprised to notice that both Draco and Ron were a few inches taller than the older man. "And before you play dumb… you looked like you two were… you were…"

Neville flushed brightly… why had he done that? He should've known better! He didn't look up at the older man, but stared down at the plant beside him. Snape was probably going to be upset that he had done that. He tried to ignore the way his lips tingled in memory of the older man's warm lips against his.

"Is it alright to have a private moment with the person baring my child?" The silky voice wasn't full of any sarcasm or resentment and Neville lifted his head and gaped at the older man who was still pointedly glaring at their intruders. He noticed that Snape's cheeks were pink again. Did… did that mean he? Did he?

What did he mean by that?

"WHAT?" Neville flinched as Ron looked over at Neville opened-mouth and wide-eyed before promptly passing out.

XXX

Neville shifted uncomfortably in the bed. He sighed and ran his hands through his hair, trying to think of something to say. But what could he… it wasn't like they talked much before all of this had happened.

"So… you and Ron eh?" He tried to smile over at Draco Malfoy who was now sitting in the chair Snape had made earlier that day. The blonde glared at him.

"How long have you known?"

"I…uh…" Neville looked back down at his hands. "I thought something was up when I saw you guys in the hall at the beginning of the year… then after the newspaper thing, I kinda guessed."

"Oh." The sandy-haired teen looked over at the blonde who was blushing. "I…see…"

"Well, it's none of my business, really." Neville scratched his head again. "I mean, I'm obviously not against it in any way…"

The blonde had snorted at that. "So when did this happen?" He waved his hand over at Neville.

"About 11 weeks ago…" Neville looked down at his hands again.

"And you two are…" Draco seemed to find it impossible to say the words: kissing, relationship, sex or snog in any sentence that was around or near Snape.

"I don't know." Neville answered honestly. "It was an accident…we weren't really…"

"And you're still having it?" The blonde was looking at Neville with surprise. "Not that I, you know… you say otherwise…"

"I can't take life away…" Neville flexed his hands, "I learned that and I'm okay with it."

"That's… very…" Draco seemed to be trying to think of a good word for what he was trying to describe. "Gryffindor of you… I guess."

"Haha, thanks, I think." Neville smiled at the blonde.

"Sorry… about the stairs, I really didn't mean to knock you down." It had been quiet, but Neville still heard it and he smiled, nodding.

"I know… thanks for trying to catch me too…" He lifted his arm to show the ripped sleeve and Draco turned bright red.

They sat there in silence; both of them looked over at Ron who was staring at them in shock. Like he had never seen such a strange scene before.

Neville had to admit that anyone would think that it was a strange scene to see Malfoy and Neville Longbottom getting along.

"Are you just going to stand there and gawk all day?" Draco glared over at the ginger who was suddenly shaken out of his trance. "Is it really that big of a deal?"

"Well… YEAH!" Ron sat at the end of Neville's bed and looked at him like he was a hard subject to study. "I mean…you HATED Snape!"

"Professor Snape." Draco glared at the redhead.

"You and Malfoy hated each other." Neville grinned at the blonde.

"But he was mean to you!"

"I wasn't nice." Draco scoffed indignantly at not being recognized.

"But…but…" Ron looked at Draco pleadingly and then at Neville.

"Listen." Neville sighed running a hand through his hair. "I honestly don't know what's going on with me and him. This was an accident… but… I liked him even before it happened and…" He bit his lip, trying to think of what to say.

"Tonight, that was a first for us by the way." He glared at them slightly for interrupting, "We… we just need help to keep it quiet for a while."

"Fine." Draco nodded, standing up and Ron gaped at him. "Listen, Snape is my godfather I… If I can help him, then I will."

"He's your godfather?" Ron squeaked.

"Why do I put up with you?" Draco glared at the redhead before smirking slightly. "Oh right…"

Neville blushed and did his best to look nonchalant as Draco whispered something in Ron's ear that made the redhead go a deep crimson. The blond pulled away, then placed a kiss on Ron's hand and left the Hospital Wing.

"Are you going to be okay with this?" Neville sighed and looked at Ron worriedly. "He might make everyone think you're the dad."

"He would." Ron nodded before looking at the back of the hand that Draco kissed and smiling slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay with it."

"I never took you for the pillow biter, Ron." Neville laughed at Ron starng at him wide-eyed and even redder than before. "It's kind of obvious…s o you two have?"

"Done nothing you should know about." There was a sharp reply and Malfoy was leaning against the door leering at them. Ron immediately jumped up and walked over to the door before shooting Neville a sheepish glance.

XXX

The morning after had been more chaotic than Neville could have guessed it would be. First it was Harry, Dean, Hermione, and Luna who showed up wanting to know what happened and if Ron really was the father. After he has assured them, that no, Ron wasn't the father and that he was going to be okay but he would not be in classes today, they left and he was a little worried about why Ron or Ginny hadn't shown up.

Then his day consisted of people either peeking in to the Hospital Wing or even pretending to be sick just so that they could stare at him awkwardly as if they were waiting for a baby to suddenly explode out of him.

After a third year Hufflepuff had complained that he didn't look pregnant, Madame Pomfrey had put him in the bed furthest from the door and placed curtains around it.

Neville sighed and looked out the window he was very thankful for. White curtains got rather boring after a while. He wondered if everyone would calm down after a day or two, but sighed. He would have to face the public eventually. He thought of all the students who had probably already owled their parents… then he wondered about the parents who might complain to the school because they had allowed such a kind of behavior to happen.

He groaned and hoped McGonagall would still let him stay.

"What's wrong?" Neville turned slightly to see Lupin opening up the curtain with a tray of food. At the sight, his stomach growled and he realized how hungry he was.

"I was wondering how much trouble the school was going to get into… and if McGonagall would still let me stay…" Neville grabbed a roll off of the tray and sighed.

"I'm sure Professor McGonagall is expecting you to finish your year here." Lupin chuckled softly. "I heard you had surprise visitors last night."

Neville huffed, taking a drink of pumpkin juice and then blushed… who had told Lupin? He looked up at the older man… if it was Snape, did he say anything about…

"Who…"

"Oh! Professor Snape was grumbling about nosy children this morning, so I guessed." Lupin gave a smile that made Neville think the older man knew more than he should.

But before he could comment, the curtains were thrown open and Neville gasped as his Great-Uncle Algie gasped for air, obviously he had been running.

"Hide! She's coming!" Neville jumped up immediately, knocking the food tray over, and looked around… There was nowhere to hide! He looked at Lupin, who grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the curtains.

"Your Gran, yes?" he looked slightly amused as Neville nodded frantically. They made it to the doors of the infirmary when they were thrown open, Lupin quickly pushed Neville behind another bed that had curtains around it and Neville was thankful that it was empty.

"Where is he, Minerva?" The voice made Neville whimper slightly. She was angry… very angry…

"Augusta! Honestly, calm down!" Professor McGonagall's voice was just as powerful and he heard their feet walk past him. He peeked out of the curtain to see that Lupin was blocking his view of the two women… so they couldn't see him either. He slid out as quietly as he could and made it out of the room just as he heard, "Algie! Where is he? What did you do to him?"

There was a loud crash of noise and he heard more shouting. Neville ran as fast as he could away from the Hospital Wing. He winced slightly when he remembered that he had left his plant there and hoped that maybe Algie would save it from any wrath that it could incur.

He stopped at the stairwell… she would probably go to the Gryffindor common room next, so he went down the stairs toward the Great Hall. He gasped for air at the end of the stairs and looked around frantically. He felt the room spin slightly and grabbed the railing.

"He doesn't look very pregnant." He looked up to see some Slytherin fifth year girls go past him. He could run to the dungeons… She would never guess he went there, she thought he was still afraid of the dark.

"Oh, there he is!" He froze. He knew that voice… but he couldn't place it. "Neville! Over here, dear!" He turned his head slightly to see Mr. and Mrs. Weasley walking straight to him. Ron was looking at them like they were aliens from another planet, but then he noticed Neville and mouthed, 'Sorry mate'.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Arthur Weasley, Ron's dad." He looked at the tall redhead in front of him. He didn't know whether to tell them to run or to get out of his way so that he could. Then it hit him… they thought Ron had gotten him pregnant.

"This is rather exciting!" Mrs. Weasley was beside him in a second laughing. "Our first grandchild!"

"Mum, I didn't get him..." Ron sighed as his mother just laughed again and pulled Neville into a tight hug. "It's not my kid, dang it!"

"I'll admit I didn't even know Ron was… you know…" Mrs. Weasley smiled at Neville in such a way he could only smile back… It seemed to encourage her, "Well, never mind that. How are you feeling? You aren't even showing yet! How far along are you?"

"Around 11 weeks." Neville choked on his answer, startled by the family around him. He looked at Ron who was glaring at his parents and then noticed Ginny who also seemed to be on the receiving end of Ron's glare. She must have been the one that told her parents. "It's really not…"

"There you are, boy." Neville froze again, not able to continue telling the Weasleys that it wasn't Ron's child. He didn't turn around as he heard the footsteps come down the stairs behind him.

"Oh! You must be Augusta Longbottom." Mr. Weasley smiled up above Neville.

"Of course it was a Weasley." His Gran scoffed and Neville groaned. "Nothing better to do with your time, eh?"

Neville felt chills up his spine as he watched the grins from Mr. and Mrs. Weasley's face vanish. The room started to spin again and he moved out of the way of the Weasley's. He braced himself against the nearest wall as he heard shouting start. He couldn't hear them properly, but when he opened his eyes he saw that Ron's father had drawn his wand on his Gran but she had her wand out too.

"It doesn't matter what or who they get together with as long as they love each other!" He heard the man's voice.

"You would feel that way." He heard his Gran and suddenly he wanted to hit her, punch her or something. She would never understand, would she?

There was a cold hand on his forehead and Neville was surprised to see Snape standing over him suddenly. The man grabbed his hand and started pulling him away from the scene at the stairs. Suddenly they were in one of the secret passageways of the school; he could hear shouting behind him and was thankful when it started fading away.

The passage ended in a hallway and it took Neville a moment to realize that they were back at the Hospital Wing. The way this school was built still confused him… he didn't remember walking up stairs. He was pulled into the infirmary to see Madame Pomfrey giving his Uncle Algie a pack of ice for a rather large bump that was on his head.

"Oh my! Get him on that bed right now!" He was being pushed down on a bed gently before he was lifted slightly and his shirt was removed, but Neville had to close his eyes again because the room was spinning. He heard Pomfrey's voice above him saying things, and he could hear Snape's voice as well.

Suddenly there was a cold wet cloth on his head and he gasped, but leaned into it. It felt very nice.

"He's worked himself into this. That stupid woman should know better, she's had a kid herself!"

His body felt heavy as a cool cloth was lifted to cover his body.

"My sister doesn't see much sense in things after she's set her mind to something."

There was another cold cloth on his neck now.

"Let's hope McGonagall put an end to it before the Weasley's kill your sister."

There was a cool hand in his and he squeezed it instinctively.

"Why them?"

"They think Ron's the father…"

"I thought it was you?"

XXX

Neville opened his eyes and the first thing he saw was the Praegnan lily. It had gotten a little bigger and he smiled at it. Then everything that had happened came rushing into his head and he moved to sit up, but there were hands on his shoulders in an instant and he looked up to see Snape with bags under his eyes but there was a small relieved smile on the other man's face.

"You need to go back to sleep." The man's voice was a bit unsteady and that didn't bode well with the teen.

"Where's Gran?" He asked hoarsely, pushing Snape's arms away and sitting up. He felt bad for doing it, but he had had enough. He couldn't be like this every time she was near. He tried to stand on his feet and his legs gave out, but Snape was there instantly sitting him back on the bed. "What's wrong with me? "

Snape sighed, "You had a high fever… It's better now but you'll be a bit weak."

"Where's my Gran?" Neville asked again, grabbing the hand that was on his shoulder. "Severus, please…"

There was another sigh but his face was back to its usual blank expression. "She's in McGonagall's office… still…"

"Will you help me there?" But before the other man answered, he was trying to stand again and was happy he stayed up this time. Then robes were wrapped around him and he noticed that he didn't have a shirt on. He looked down at the deep black robes and blushed.

Snape seemed to think about which way was the best to move Neville around before wrapping his arm around the teen's waist. "Put your arm over my shoulder, I think this will be the fastest way to move without me floating you around."

Neville flushed and put his right hand around the older man's shoulder. He couldn't remember being this close to the older man.

"I must warn you that the Weasley's might still be there as well."

"How long have they been there?" Neville looked up sideways at the older man as they made their way down the hall. He could tell it must have been very late from how dark the halls were but Snape seemed to know exactly where they were going so Neville followed him into another secret passage.

"They haven't left the castle, if that's what you mean." Snape's voice was sarcastic like he thought the whole ordeal was a waste of his time.

"Anything bad happen?" He was almost afraid to ask but waited for an answer anyway. There was a pregnant pause.

"Mister Malfoy seems to have snapped and started snogging Mister Weasley in front of the Great Hall." There was amusement in his tone and Neville gasped.

"In front of everyone?"

"But not until after he shouted that Mr. Weasley was his boyfriend and not yours." There was a chuckle and Neville wondered if he even wanted to see the expression on Snape's face at the moment.

"And how did everyone react to this?" Neville stared at the darkness in shock.

"McGonagall sent everyone to their respective houses and the Weasleys and your Gran and her brother have been in her office ever since."

They walked out into a slightly lit hall and Neville saw the gargoyle statue in front of him. He hesitated, causing the older man to stop.

"We can go ba-"

"I need to do this." Neville sniffed defiantly. He reluctantly let go of the black-haired man's neck but then looked at him. He paused, wondering what he really wanted to do but then there was a cool hand on his neck that had surprised him. "Y-your hand is cold!"

"You still have a slight fever."

"Good, I can blame it on that afterward." Neville mumbled but the hand had moved to his cheek and he moved to kiss the wrist and looked up at the black-haired man. The black eyes were glistening in the torch lights that slightly lit the hallway. And then Neville was against the other man, pressing his lips hard against the others.

He wrapped his arms around Snape's neck and moaned slightly, licking the older man's lips before pulling away and he licked his own lips.

"Fever, right." He grinned at the older man before looking at the gargoyle. "I need to end this madness."

"About time." The gargoyle sniffed and then moved, revealing the stairs up to the Headmistress' office. Neville glanced one more time at the stunned Professor and then made his way up the stairs, hoping that this sudden burst of energy would last as long as he needed it to.

He didn't even bother knocking and opened the door, walking in. The noise immediately stopped and he looked around to see Ron, Ginny and Draco sitting sheepishly in a corner. He saw Algie sitting between the Weasleys and his Gran and Professor McGonagall looked tired as she sat at her desk.

They all stared at him, obviously not expecting him.

"Mr. Longbottom, you should be resting…" Minerva sighed, rubbing her temples with her hands.

"Since he's up, he's leaving with me," his Gran stood up.

"To do what?" Everyone stopped and then looked at him again, apparently not having expected him to speak. His Gran looked at him with a mix of fury and surprise.

"We can talk later, Neville." She glared over at him.

"I'm not leaving. You can't make me." Neville glared back at her. "And I'm not getting rid of this baby either if that's what you were expecting."

The older woman opened her mouth to protest, but he stopped her.

"Just shut it, will you?" He growled and then ran a tired hand through his hair. "I don't care what you say, or what you think and I'll find somewhere else to stay when I graduate if I have to. You can leave now, you're not wanted here. If you feel like talking, and I mean really talking, then fine, I'll talk to you but for now I want you to leave this school." Neville huffed and felt himself fall a little backwards only to be stopped by strong hands.

"I love you but I really don't like you right now." He added, glaring at her again.

"Thank you for that, Mr. Longbottom." He was a little delighted to see McGonagall's lips twitch at the sides. "Augusta, why don't I call down to Hogsmeade and get you a room. We can continue this later."

"No need." The woman stared at Minerva coldly. "He's said what he wanted." And with that, she grabbed her bag and ignored Neville's presence as she went through the door. It hurt him a lot more than he thought it would. Algie stood up, looking a little shell shocked.

"Sorry 'bout that." He scratched his nose, smiling awkwardly at the Weasleys.

"Oh, it wasn't you, Algie." Mrs. Weasley was glaring at the door furiously. "It was your sister."

"I should go after her… you know… make sure she isn't destroying anything." He walked over to the door and put an arm on Neville's shoulder smiling down at him. "I'm proud of you, you know that?"

Neville nodded shakily. He watched his Great-Uncle leave the room.

"Sit down, Mr. Longbottom…please." McGonagall motioned at the two empty chairs and Neville was grateful for Snape as the older man pulled him into a chair and then sat next to him.

"Ah, Severus." Mr. Weasley nodded over at Snape who nodded politely back. "What a day, eh?"

"Sorry about the confusion, Arthur and Molly." Minerva sighed and sat down back in her chair.

"Oh, it's alright." Molly Weasley looked over at her son, who was holding hands with a now dozing Draco. "We still got good news today."

Ron blushed furiously but didn't let go of Draco's hand.

"Sorry you're not getting any grandkids." Neville smiled apologetically.

"Oh honey." Molly looked taken back by the sympathy. "If you ever need a place to stay… and I mean it, you are welcome at the Burrow at any time!"

"Right-o." Mr. Weasley grinned at his wife.

They all got up and said their goodbyes but Mr. Weasley put Neville on his back and carried him back to the hospital and the teen found it hard to walk for himself. He looked back apologetically at Snape who was staring at Mrs. Weasley while she talked excitedly about children and the joys of.

He wondered idly if the Weasley's knew… and he thought he would be okay with that.

Neville laid himself on the bed as the Weasley's said goodbye and left the room. He watched Snape move slowly over to the bed he was laying in.

Their eyes met and the older man smirked. "Your Voldemort?"

"She didn't seem that scary with a fever." Neville mumbled, ignoring how much it had hurt him that she had ignored him on her way out. He figured he deserved it.

There was a cold hand on his head and he put his hand over it. "Must still have a fever… your hands are cold."

"Does it bother you?"

Neville flushed but shook his head and instead kissed the palm of the older man's hand. "I love your hands."

There were cool lips on his forehead and Neville could remember holding tightly onto cold hands before he fell asleep.

XXX

"I can't believe you kissed me in front of my parents."

"I can't believe your parents like me?"

"Why wouldn't they?"

"That's just too weird." Neville opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to see Harry and Hermione looking over at something a little startled. He slowly moved to see Draco and Ron grinning at each other while holding hands in the bed next to his. Dean was beside them looking a little scared but Luna was smiling at them like it was the most normal thing in the world.

"Oh, Neville's awake!" He looked up to see Ginny Weasley leaning over him. "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted." He admitted before sitting up slowly and looking around at them. "Why are you all here anyway? What about…" he had to think for a moment on what class they would be having but realized that it was the weekend. "You got nothing better to do than watch me sleep?"

"Watching a pregnant boy sleep is pretty interesting." Harry offered but then laughed apologetically. "Okay, really we were worried about you."

"Ron, Ginny and…. Draco" Hermione gave the blond a confused look but he just grinned deviously at her. "Um… they told us about what happened… with your Gran… and…"

"So the whole school knows you two are together now?" Neville looked over at Ron and Draco. Ron blushed but the blond looked smug.

"You knew?" Harry, Dean and Hermione all looked at him in shock. "And you didn't tell any of us?"

"That's the point of a secret, you know." Neville yawned and stretched, his body was a bit sore. "But if you guys want me to share, then…"

"No, that's alright!" Harry, Hermione and Ginny all sputtered. Dean looked at them and then at Neville.

"Spill."

Neville laughed but shook his head. "You wouldn't want me to either… trust me." He pulled his robes around him tighter before realizing that he wasn't wearing his robes. He blushed furiously, looking down at the robes Snape had lent to him the night before realizing they belonged to the older man. He wrapped the robes around him and looked up at everyone.

"So does everyone know who the dad is?"

"Urr… yeah." Ginny scratched the back of her head, "Sorry, but some Ravenclaws had apparently snuck off to get food from the kitchens and they heard our parents talking as they left… Sorry, mate."

Neville just nodded, burying his nose into the robes and enjoying the way he felt wrapped up in it. "I figured as much."

"So it really is Snape?" Harry looked at him disbelieving. "Really?"

Neville glared over at him. "Got a problem with that?" He paused because someone else had said that with him and he looked over, startled, at Ron. Draco was looking at the ginger, rather startled too.

"No… it's just surprising you know." Harry scratched his head uncomfortably.

Suddenly Neville's stomach growled loudly, letting him know that it was starving. He blushed and started getting out of bed.

"No way, mister, we got strict orders not you let you out of bed!" Ginny stopped him from leaving. "We can go get food for you."

"But… I've been in here for so long." Neville moaned, "I don't think I can remember what the Great Hall looks like."

He heard a snort and glared sideways at Draco.

"Well, you can't go in that." Dean laughed as Neville stood up and found the robes were a little too long for him. The sandy-haired teen reluctantly took off the robes but heard spluttering. He looked up to see Dean had covered Luna's eyes and was pulling her away from the bed. Ginny and Hermione were blushing brightly before Harry made them turn around.

"But he has a nice body!" Ginny moaned.

"Don't think I got that reaction before." Neville shrugged at the amused Malfoy and startled Ron as he stared at his sister's back.

"Don't see why not." Neville got flustered and turned his back to the blond as he put his shirt on. He looked back to see Draco laughing at the moping Ron.

"I'm decent!" Neville laughed as Ginny made a sad sniffing noise looking at him. Harry looked at him, a little upset.

"I do have to say… Herbologist apparently have nice bodies." Hermione giggled with the ginger girl.

"I've seen him without his shirt before." Luna was giving Dean a confused look while the black teen looked at Neville, expecting an answer.

"It gets really hot in the greenhouses." Neville flushed and picked up his little potted plant and they made their way to the doors. "So who did you guys promise not to let me get out of bed?"

"Snape." They all chuckled and shut the door behind them.

XXX


	4. Misunderstandings

XXX

Chapter 4 : Misunderstandings

XXX

"E'ffin Fairy!"

"Mudblood!" Draco sneered at the passing sixth year.

"Draco!"

"He called me a fairy! They're disgusting!" Draco made a rude gesture to the Hufflepuff before glaring at Ron. "How would you react?"

"To muggles… fairy is another word for poof," Ron sighed, rubbing his temples.

"Oh." Draco smirked. "Thank you then!" He shouted at the Hufflepuff with another rude gesture.

Ron sighed again before grabbing Draco's hand and making their way over to where Harry, Hermione and Neville were under the tree by the lake. Neville was lying in the snow blissfully.

"He's sure happy." Ron laughed, looking at Neville as the teen started humming.

"Oh, you would be too if you had hot flashes…" Hermione looked down at Neville shivering in the snow. "Neville, please get up! You're going to get sick."

"Feels too nice," the sandy-haired teen mumbled, but his robes were starting to get soggy so he sighed and got up out of the snow. "Better?"

"Did you know muggles call poofs fairies?" Draco looked at Hermione before realizing who he was asking… then turned to Harry who was giving the blond an amused look. Draco huffed and took Ron's scarf from him before wrapping it around himself.

"They have a lot of words for poofs," Harry looked at his hand, counting. "None I would ever repeat in good company of course."

"You'll tell me later?" Draco smirked.

"ACHOO!" Neville sniffed and wiped his nose before looking up at everyone's startled expression. "Whuut?"

"I am not hearing about this later… I wasn't here." Draco turned and started to head back towards the castle, still with Ron's scarf.

"I'm starting to like him… sort of." Harry laughed and nudged Ron.

"Neville, inside now." Hermione grabbed the teen's arm as he sniffed. "I told you that you were going to catch a cold."

"Don't make me go see Pomfrey again." Neville moaned as the girl dragged him inside. "I just got back to the dorms again! She'll try to keep me overnight."

"Start taking care of yourself." Hermione sniffed at him unapologetically. "I mean honestly, Neville… you're what? 15-16 weeks along now?" She huffed.

"I'm still not showing anything." He patted his stomach, almost expecting it to have grown right then.

"For some people, when it's their first pregnancy…" Hermione took on her lecturing tone before waving her wand over her and Neville, drying them off. "They don't show until much later. That doesn't mean the baby isn't developing."

"Okay, okay…" He sniffed again and looked over at Harry and Ron, who were watching them, amused.

"You do realize that she kinda said that like he was going to have another one," Harry looked over at Ron.

"I did catch that, mate." Ron looked at Neville expectantly, but Hermione huffed loudly.

"It's not that bad." Neville looked at his stomach again but then sighed, "If you don't count the morning sickness, dizzy spells, vitamins, food cravings, hot flashes, cold flashes, spending most of your time in the hospital… and oh yeah! Mood swings!"

"Psh. Walk in the park." Ron scoffed, Hermione sniffed dismissively.

"It'll all be worth it." She smiled warmly and grabbed his arm, dragging him down the hall.

"I'll bet you a knut that he realizes she's taking him to the hospital wing and books for it." Ron mumbled over to the black-haired teen beside him.

"I bet Pomfrey sees them coming and helps wrestle him into bed again." Harry grinned widely as they followed the two teens.

XXX

"Krum wants to know how the lily is doing," Hermione said while she knocked on the doorframe to see Neville lying on his back in bed with his arms over his eyes.

"Draw a bloody picture." Neville moaned, pointing at the lily that had grown even more.

Hermione sighed and walked into the room, but not before giving one more look at the new sign on their door.

'Room of Sin' in Draco Malfoy's handwriting.

"Are you going to be able to make it to Potions?" Hermione sat on the side of his bed and started drawing a picture of the plant.

Neville sighed and looked at her. "Yeah… Sorry, I just got another headache." He smiled apologetically and got off the bed to get his stuff together. He really didn't want Snape to think that there was anything wrong. He sighed as he thought about how they hadn't had a decent moment alone since his Gran had suddenly showed up.

She still hadn't written him and his Uncle never mentioned her in his letters.

"Your Gran will come around." Neville looked at Hermione, surprised.

She smiled softly, "You've been getting that look on you a lot more recently."

"Sorry, I know… It's just…" he ran a hand through his hair before putting a hand on his stomach. He stopped. "I'm either gaining weight or I think I might be growing soon…"

"Really!" She jumped off the bed and looked at Neville eagerly. "Oh wow, how exciting!"

"I'm not having it yet." Neville looked at her, amused. She blushed and then went back to her drawing.

"C'mon, we're going to be late." He grabbed his bag and opened the door for her before giving a look at the plant and leaving the room. It had gotten too big and Snape had decided he didn't want it anywhere near any potion Neville was going to make.

He wondered if he could get the teacher alone after class today.

"You're thinking about snogging someone." He became flustered at the amused voice beside him and turned to see Draco. "I can tell- I'm used to seeing it." He nodded his head at Ron, who was covering up his slightly swollen bottom lip.

He blushed furiously.

"Neville, dear," this voice definitely caught the teen off guard and he looked to his other side to see that Pansy had shoved Hermione away, "I just wanted to say you're doing something pretty amazing."

He stared at her in shock and looked at Hermione who just shrugged.

"I mean, if it were me I would have… you know… poof! Gone!"

"Okay, enough of you." Malfoy put an arm protectively around the smaller teen and shooed Pansy away as she laughed awkwardly. "Sorry about that."

"Did she really just …" Hermione came up, looking at Pansy's back with shock.

"You should've heard the girls earlier in the common room." Draco smirked, "What they were saying about what they would do if they were in Neville's shoes… makes Pansy look like a kitten."

She looked at the blonde, obviously disbelieving what he was saying.

"Wire hanger," was all he said and she paled, looking at him in shock, but the blond nodded a little, clearly amused at her reaction. "That's all I'm telling you."

"What's that mean?" Neville looked up at the blond, a little worried, "I don't get it."

"It's alright, Neville!" Hermione forced a smile and he decided that it was probably better that he didn't know.

Suddenly, Draco pulled away from Neville and he looked over at the blond with surprise before the door to the Potions dungeon opened and revealed Snape standing there, slightly scowling at them. "Hurry up."

"For the next month, all of you will be trying your hand at brewing wolfsbane potion." Snape's voice filled the room as they all widened their eyes. "It's very advanced and difficult to make, but if you can get it close, you should have no problem with your NEWTs."

The class started murmuring to themselves.

"And before you ask, no, I am not going to subject Professor Lupin to your potions because I really don't think any of you are going to get that close to it." He snorted, watching the class look down a little dejectedly. "You know the drill."

He waved his wand, the instructions appeared on the board and the doors to the more expensive ingredients opened up for them to use.

"Wolfsbane? He's gone nutters." Ron groaned and went to get the ingredients as Neville copied down the instructions just in case Snape decided to erase them later right when they would probably need them. He looked up at the professor, who was now grading papers at his desk, and he let his eyes trail over to his hands. Those long pale hands that had been so cold the last time he touched them… He wondered idly if they would be warm again.

A piece of paper hit him on the nose and he jumped back, startled, before looking at the blond across the room who worded with his lips, 'Stop thinking that. Gross.'.

He blushed and looked at Ron who had a handful of supplies. "Draco's definitely gotten comfortable with everyone, I think." He smiled as the red-head blushed but then nodded.

"I wasn't really worried about that."

Neville raised an eyebrow at that but before he could comment, Snape coughed and he turned to his notes.

Class was gong surprising well and both Ron and Neville watched their potion turn a color slightly different than Harry and Hermione's. They both grinned brightly at each other and started double checking everything. There was a chance they could get this close to right!

Neville decided to let Ron do the potion while he just read the directions; he didn't want to chance it. The bell rang and everyone started putting their stuff together. Ron grabbed the cauldron and went to put it up, and Neville laughed slightly as he watched him let Draco up the ladder first.

"Ready for lunch? I know I am- I'm starving!" He turned to see Harry and Hermione already waiting for them… with Pansy who was looking a little surprised herself.

"I want to talk to Professor Snape first, I'll meet you there." He blushed slightly as Pansy grinned mischievously at him.

He waited for the classroom to empty out and he watched Snape answer a few questions from anyone who asked, but then he was at his desk again looking at his papers. He took a deep breath and walked up to the desk, waiting for the older man to acknowledge he was there. His eyes traced the features of the older man; he looked tired, but Neville flushed when his eyes reached the lips.

"Mr. Longbottom." He jumped and looked up to see that the coal black eyes were staring at him. He looked around and saw the room was empty.

"I-I just wanted to..." he looked to the ground and ran a hand through his hair, "We haven't had a chance to talk in a while…"

"What did you want to talk about?" The voice was calm and Neville looked up at him a little surprised. He didn't know… there was a lot to talk about! The whole bloody world was finding out that he was pregnant with Snape's kid; he couldn't get the man out of his mind and maybe… he…

He moved around the desk so that he was standing over the older man, who had turned his chair so he could look at him. "I like you." He hoped he said it with authority, but he knew his face had turned bright crimson. He looked into the black eyes in front of him, wanting a reaction.

"No, you don't." Snape sighed, running a hand through his long black hair. "You think you do… but you don't."

"I think I can tell for myself." Neville glared down at the man, suddenly pissed. "I like you."

Black eyes met his again and Neville found himself trying to calm down. He wasn't really angry at Snape, it was just…

"You're emotional and it's…" The man made a movement with his hand before he stopped himself suddenly, but Neville caught it.

"You think I like you because of the kid?" He whispered it, watching the man, but Snape gave a short nod before sighing. "I'm sorry, but last time I checked, babies don't take over their mother's body like some kind of leech," he hissed, feeling himself grow angry again.

"That's not what I…"

"Oh, I know what you are trying to say," sniffed Neville angrily, "You've been avoiding me, haven't you? You think I'm confused…"

"No, I-" but the teen didn't let Snape finish as he leaned down and pressed his lips against the older man's. He placed a hand on the black-haired man's neck and licked his lips, wanting to push the kiss deeper, but there were arms on his shoulder pushing him back.

Snape looked slightly flustered and Neville felt an odd sense of satisfaction in that. "It's just the baby talking…"

"You're an idiot!" The sandy-haired teen flushed but backed away from the older man as he put a hand over his stomach. He didn't want to look at the older man, he was angry at him, upset at him. He cursed mentally as he felt his eyes warm up.

"I don't mean to…"

"No? Apparently I can't think for myself anymore." Neville snorted angrily, still not looking at the older man and he hated the way his body leaned back into the two hands that had grabbed his shoulder.

Suddenly the door burst open and in stumbled two figures laughing against each other and whispering hushly. Neville glared at Professor Lupin and whichever Weasley twin it was.

"Oh! Sorry…we…" The two people separated instantly when they saw the other two people in the room.

"My baby hates all of you right now!" Neville threw his arms in the air and grabbed his bag. Lupin and the twin both jumped away from the door as he went through it. He turned to glare one more time at Snape, who seemed surprised. "You're a bloody idiot!" And with that, he slammed the door behind him and walked as fast as he could away from the dungeons. When he finally got far enough, he leaned against the closest wall and wiped his eyes.

XXX

"What's wrong?" Hermione had just walked into the common room to see Harry, Dean and Ron moping around. "Did you guys find Neville?" She had been worried when the teen never showed up for lunch and she had gone to check the dungeons, but only found Snape furiously pacing around.

"He's up there but…" Dean looked over at Harry and Hermione noticed the other teen had a black eye. "He's not very happy right now."

"Do you know what happened?" Ron looked up at her. "Did you find Snape?"

"He isn't very happy right now either." She bit her lip; they must have gotten into a fight. "I couldn't get near him. Ron, you think you could get Draco to figure out what's up? He could probably get it out of him."

"Sure, why not." The tall red-head stretched and stood up. He made his way to the opening portrait hole and gasped.

They all turned to see George Weasley smiling sheepishly at them. Hermione noted at how his hair was messy and his lips were red. She didn't think he had a girlfriend….

"George! What's wrong?" Ron obviously did not notice the twin's appearance and took his appearance for as bad news.

"You're adopted." George looked at Ron seriously before grinning. "A little bird told me something about you…"

Ron flushed red.

"So it's true," George grinned mischievously at his younger brother who was now mumbling something. "You and Malfoy?"

"Yeah." Ron nodded and then noted that Fred wasn't there. He paled slightly. "Got to go… check something." And they watched him zoom past his older brother and the hole closed behind him.

"What was that?" Harry looked at George, confused.

"He probably thinks Fred is bothering Malfoy," George grinned, looking back.

"Is he?" Hermione looked at him questioningly.

"No! He's in London right now. Didn't feel like stopping him though." George grinned again before looking around. "Where's Neville?"

Hermione was taken aback by this and eyed him warily. He gave her a sheepish look and her eyes widened. "What happened? Why is he upset?"

George opened his mouth to say something but seemed to think against it. He scratched his head and looked up at the boy's dorms. "I think we might have interrupted something."

"We? I thought you said Fred was in London?" Dean looked at the taller teen quizzically. George blushed but didn't say anything and instead started heading toward the dorms.

"Watch out for his right fist!" Harry pointed at his eye and George flinched slightly but continued.

"Does he have a girlfriend here?" Hermione whispered over at Harry who looked at her and shook his head.

"No, I think he would tell us if he did." Harry got up. "We should get to Transfigurations anyway."

XXX

"Leave me alone." Neville sniffed at the door at the knock. "My baby doesn't want to be bothered right now." He stated bitterly, but turned when the door opened anyway. He saw the Weasley twin.

"You the same one?" He asked, eyeing the ginger.

"George and yeah." George nodded as he closed the door behind him. "Thought we should talk."

"I don't want to talk." Neville mumbled and turned away from the red-head.

"Okay, well…" George walked over slowly and then sat on the edge of Neville's bed, looking around the dorm. "I do. I guess you noticed that Remus and I are…"

Neville sniffed but nodded. He had realized it after he had kicked everyone out of the room. He had been surprised at first but then realized that there were stranger things going on at the school. "I haven't told anyone if that's what you're worried about…"

"No, it isn't. You were really upset and I felt bad." George answered honestly and then lay in the bed beside the teen. "So you're pregnant?"

"You're sleeping with a werewolf."

"Ha." George grinned, looking at the canopy above the bed. He looked over at the teen and felt a wave of sympathy. "If it makes you feel any better, I think Snape made a potion explode earlier today."

"It doesn't." Neville mumbled. "Is he okay?"

"Yeah." George chuckled lightly and sighed. "I've never been good at any of this…better than Fred of course, but you know…" He lifted his arm and waved it lightly in the air. "Want to chat?"

Neville couldn't help but grin. There was always a strange sort of charisma about the twins. He huffed and rolled over to face him. "Snape thinks the baby is controlling me." He snorted bitterly.

"HA!" George laughed but then noticed the look on the younger teen's face. "You're not serious… are you?"

"Well, he obviously thinks there's no other reason for me to like him." He moved to lie on his back and stared up at the canopy. A sudden thought hit him, "You think it's because of the age difference?"

"Honestly?" The ginger looked over at him, "Yeah… probably. Remus had the same problem."

"How did you two... you know?" Neville blushed and looked at his hands.

George opened his mouth but then closed it, blushing. "Want my version or Fred's? His is shorter…"

"His then." Neville watched the ginger expectantly.

"Well, the way he tells it, I was taken with Lupin but he thought I was too young so I… got him drunk. Slept with him. Then in the morning when he woke up, I told him he had to take responsibility. That's the way Fred says anyway."

"So probably pretty close to the truth." Neville laughed.

"There were go." George sat up and patted Neville on the shoulder. "That got a smile."

Neville blushed and sat up as well. "Sorry about… you know…"

"You're pregnant." George exclaimed as if it explained everything. "So what's your story?"

"Well I haven't got him yet, have I?" Neville gave the red-head an annoyed look before laughing slightly. "You mean this?" He waved his hand over his stomach and George nodded.

"Well…" Neville looked down at his stomach- it was getting a little pudgier; he wondered idly if he had been thinking that he would have grown over night. "It was a potion's accident."

"There has to be more story to it than that." George scoffed but then noticed the teen had started shaking slightly. "You don't have to…"

"If I tell you this, you can't repeat it to anyone." Neville put his hands over his face. How much could he tell him? "I was doused with this love potion that had been mixed with some other things… and- and…" There was a hand on his shoulder and he looked over at George, who was looking at him worriedly.

"I liked him before it happened though." Neville was glad that he hadn't started crying. "I was just coming to terms with, you know, liking blokes… and I realized that I liked him a whole bloody lot."

"He never knew though?" The ginger was rubbing circles on Neville's back and he remembered that it was the same thing Ron would do to him when he was upset.

"I never thought of actually acting on it," Neville answered honestly, "with the war and all and then this… and…"

"If there is one thing my parents believe, it's how love works in mysterious ways." George grinned slightly. "I'll admit I haven't even told them about Remus and me… even though I know they'll accept him with open arms."

"They all too eagerly accepted me and Malfoy." Neville laughed. "Fred knows too, I'm guessing."

"Of course." George gave Neville a look that said it was a ridiculous thought to think his twin wouldn't know something about him. "So when are you going to tell the bloke?"

"I did." Neville frowned at the memory. "That's what started this mess…"

"Ah." George nodded frowning a bit. "Git."

"Ha…" Neville felt his lips twitch up a bit. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Listen, thanks for this, but…"

"Knew I was no good." George moaned pathetically and put an arm over his face, flinging himself down on the bed. "Complete rubbish…"

"No! It was… thanks." Neville laughed slightly. "See? I'm smiling?" He struggled to keep it up. "I just need to think. I'm going to go down to the greenhouses…"

"I'll walk with you; I haven't been around the school yet." The twin hopped out of the bed and waited for Neville at the door.

They made their way around and Neville decided to show the twin some of the changes that had been made. The destroyed passageways and where Peeves had decided to make changes of his own. They laughed at they caught some now-flustered Hufflepuffs snogging in the passage behind the gargoyle on the third floor.

"Never changes, this place." George laughed but suddenly there was a loud rumble and the castle shook slightly. They stopped, looking at the stairs towards the dungeons…

"You don't think…" George stared at the entrance.

"No…" Neville shook his head, but they both instantly took off down the stairs. They passed several Slytherins who seemed to have decided that they shouldn't be near the dungeons, and the reason became clear as they turned into the hallway to see smoke coming from the Potion's classroom and two very familiar voices yelling.

"LIKE YOU HAVE ANY RIGHT TO TALK!"

"STUPID. IGNORANT!"

"Expelliarmus!"

They ran quickly into the room, pulling out their wands. The first thing he saw was Draco covered in black soot pointing his wand as he caught two that had been flying in the air. Ron was sitting on the ground beside him, also covered in the black powder, he seemed startled. Both of them seemed unharmed, but there was a loud bang and he followed their gazes to the middle of the room where Lupin was picking himself up of the floor with blood coming from his nose.

He glanced at the other side of the room to see Snape, his eyes wild as he stared at the werewolf. A strange manic look that Neville had never seen before was on his face. There was blood coming from his mouth and the teen noticed small rips in his robes.

"Draco took away their wands away and then they just…" Neville's head snapped to look at Ron who was still watching the two professors. "The explosion was a potion that I guess… got too hot or something…"

"You have no right!" He turned back to see Lupin hit Snape across the face, but the black-haired man tackled him. There were fists and then the men were cursing at each other loudly.

Neville had never seen anything like it before.

"Oi!" George seemed to have collected himself and was running over to the two men. "What's going on here?"

But none of them gave any notice that they heard him and suddenly Snape was thrown against some of the shelves, knocking down rows of glass containers. He didn't know what had come over him, but he ran over to the older man who slumped against the wall but was trying to get up. Lupin was making his way over to the man with a wild look of his own; he didn't seem to notice George yelling at him.

But Snape had gotten up again, glaring furiously at the light-haired man. "You don't understand!" And they were hitting each other again, ripping at each other's robes. He saw the blood coming down on the black-haired man's face from his hairline and Neville didn't realize he was moving until he was already near them. He heard someone shout at him but he ignored it.

Lupin had managed to push the Potions Master off of him and Neville immediately grabbed the man and shoved him against the wall again, ignoring the sound of glass breaking around him. But arms had grabbed him and suddenly his back was against the wall and he hissed in pain, but his eyes widened as he stared up at Snape.

The man was breathing hard, glaring at him with utmost hatred; he had his arm raised into a fist and it looked like he was about to hit him. He waited for the impact, but kept his eyes on the older man. He started trembling under the glare… he couldn't take it.

But Snape had gasped and his eyes widened. Neville watched the hand lower and then Snape was covering his face with his hands. The teen noticed the older man was trembling and as if almost by instinct, he placed his hands over the older man's.

"WHAT THE HELL, REMUS?" Neville kept his eyes on Snape while he heard George yelling. Snape was taking deep breaths and then he froze. The sandy-haired teen immediately pulled his hands away, not wanting to cross the line but one of Snape's hands caught one of his own. Neville froze.

"Why are you…?" The voice seemed strained and coal black eyes were looking at hazel ones. But instead of answering the unfinished question, Neville picked his wand off of the ground – he had dropped it when he grabbed Snape – and started mumbling the basic healing spells he knew over the small cuts the older man had gained.

The black-haired man stayed still, watching the teen work. Neville bit his lip trying to keep himself together but as he lifted his wand at a cut above the other man's eye, their eyes met and he felt himself crumbling. He moved his arm up and wiped the blood away with his sleeve but then there was a gentle warm hand on the side of his face.

"I…" But Neville shook his head, not wanting the other man to continue, he didn't want to know. He didn't want Snape to speak. If he spoke, he would just get angry again. If he spoke, they would have to talk and their talks never ended well. But then the older man grabbed his wand hand and Neville stopped, not knowing what to do. He bit his lip again and Snape pulled his arm forward and then placed an all too gentle kiss on the younger man's wrist.

Neville started shaking. Why? Why? Why? He felt his knees wanting to buckle underneath him. Why did everything have to be so confusing? Why did Snape have to be so stinking hard to understand? He must have voiced the last question because the older man's expression pained slightly.

"I'm not…" But Snape seemed to think over what he was about to say and stopped. Neville shook his head, not wanting to hear excuses or whatever the other man wanted to say. But his wrist had been released and before he could pull away, there were suddenly two warm hands on his head, pulling him forward.

He gasped when lips met his and realized he had closed his eyes. He didn't want to open them, afraid it would stop. He grabbed onto the taller man's robes in front of him, realizing once again he must have dropped his wand. He felt a tongue against his lips and opened his mouth slightly as Snape deepened the kiss. He tasted like pumpkin juice, mint, and copper from the blood and Neville realized that he didn't care at all, but it ended too soon as the older man pulled away and the teen bit his lip, still not wanting to open his eyes.

He opened them slowly but turned his gaze down to the floor and realized they were standing on broken glass and potion ingredients.

There was a soft cough.

Neville snapped his head to look over at the other occupants at the room. Ron was blushing uncomfortably and seemed to be trying to find something else to watch in the room. The ginger's eyes fell on his brother who was tending to Lupin's wounds with a strange tenderness. Though George also seemed to be lecturing the older man who was mumbling replies and looked up over at them.

Draco was watching them with a blank expression before sighing. He ran a pale hand through his blonde hair that was covered in soot. The teen then waved his wand and started cleaning the dungeon.

"Are you…" Neville looked at Snape, who seemed slightly worried and was looking Neville over before he placed one of his hands gently against the teen's back. Neville realized he was worried because he had thrown him against the wall earlier. He nodded and was about to say he was alright, but hissed when the man pressed against an apparently tender area.

Snape frowned.

"If you expect me to go to Pomfrey, you're coming with me." Neville whispered, glaring at the older man and trying his best not to focus on his lips.

XXX

"I really don't think I need this many pillows." Neville was looking at his bed that now had a large quantity of pillows. He eyed it warily and tried to think of who would tell the house elves he needed this many. Then he wondered if multiple people had told them so they just gave him a lot.

The last reason seemed to be the most plausible.

"Nonsense, my mum told me that you're going to want pillows after you start showing." Ron grinned as he passed Neville, but not before patting the teen's small belly with his hand. "So you don't get that many back problems… and stuff…"

Neville checked Ron onto his list of one of the people that did it as he narrowed his eyes at the teen. "But most pregnant women have breasts and stuff to deal with." Ron flushed.

"Please don't tell me you're growing breasts." Harry snorted as he came into the room, followed by Dean who stopped to gape at the pillows on Neville's bed.

"How come you get so many?" He sniffed; obviously feeling mistreated by not getting any more pillows and went to flop on his bed.

"No, I'm not growing breasts." Neville looked down to check just in case. He would have to ask Poppy about it later. He had seen her so much this year that she had told him they should be on first name basis by now. He looked at his swelling belly; it hadn't gotten that big but it was getting obvious now. "And the pillows… Never mind you want some?" He threw a few of them at the black kid and hit him in the face with one.

"Ow!"

"Haha." Neville laughed before mumbling an apology and then sighed. "Dang, I'm hungry again… You think I could get something to eat before class?"

"You need to start carrying a buffet with you," Ron snorted playfully, "instead of that plant."

Neville looked over at the Praegnan Lily on his bedside table. It was still a small plant but he didn't think that it was known for its size or anything. It now had two buds and seemed to be in perfect health. He had been in correspondence with Victor Krum about it since he had gotten the first letter and the Bulgarian Seeker seemed really interested in the fact that a pregnant… man was growing the plant.

He hadn't gotten an answer from his last letter but he shrugged, knowing Krum was a professional Quidditch player and would also probably be writing letters to Hermione. He sprinkled some water on it from a cup he had beside it.

"This is a rare plant." He picked it up and put it in his pocket that he had recently enchanted to make sure the flower never fell over or was affected by what was going on outside of the pocket. He had to ask Hermione for some help on that, but he thought he did a pretty good job himself.

"Snape's going to get mad when he hears you've been sneaking that plant into class." Harry got his bags together for their classes and gave Neville an amused look.

"I'll come with you to get something to eat before class." Ron got out of his bed and grabbed his bag. "I'm feeling a bit peachy myself."

"This is a dream come true for Ron." Dean laughed, "Now he has someone to go with him to the kitchens. You sure you're not pregnant?"

"Maybe Draco slipped something into one of your drinks." Harry and Dean started laughing as Ron flushed and left the room but Neville noticed the ginger put a hand over his stomach. He raised an eyebrow before following the teen out of the room and out of the common room.

"Everything all right?" Neville was about to switch which shoulder his bag was on but it was suddenly pulled out of his hands and he looked up to see Draco Malfoy smirk at him before pulling it over his shoulder with his own bag.

"Just hungry." Neville answered the blond before looking over at Ron who was blushing and giving Draco a sidelong glance.

"Of course." Draco snorted. "You should just get a house elf here to bring you food. You could probably get Pomfrey to assign you one. Then again, she would probably just want you to move into the hospital wing which is closer to the kitchens anyway."

"Which I refuse." Neville huffed. "It's ridiculous!"

"Not really." Ron shrugged, turning to them. "My mum says that you're going to want to stop walking around so much the later on you are. And if you do move around, not to do it for long periods of time and stuff…"

"Really?" Neville sighed, "Maybe it'll be different for me."

"Always a chance of that." Draco nodded curtly before suddenly pulling Neville into an empty classroom.

"Wha?" Neville watched Ron shut the door, he shrugged at Neville sheepishly. "What's this about?"

"Two days ago." Draco sat the smaller teen down into one of the chairs before pulling one up for himself. Neville thought about the incident with Lupin and Snape. No one had brought it up afterwards so he had thought they decided to pretend it never happened. He looked at them waiting for them to explain, but neither of them looked like they were going to.

"Is this because of George and Lupin?" Neville asked hesitantly at Ron who shook his head but blushed. Ron had noticed how tender George had been treating Remus' wounds and it seemed the ginger had realized it immediately. Ron had swore to not tell anyone about it but then wondered why George felt the need to keep it a secret when their parents had already accepted Draco.

From what Neville could tell- George still hadn't given him an answer that Ron liked.

"Then what is this abou-"

"Okay." Draco seemed suddenly very nervous and he ran a hand through his hair, messing up the blond locks. "Ron and I had come into the room before the fight had started…"

Neville watched the blond; they were going to tell him how the fight started? It didn't give him a good feeling that they felt that he needed to know… he wondered what could have been said.

He tried to ignore the feeling of dread that came over him.

"Well, they were glaring at each other." Ron pulled up a chair to sit beside Draco when it seemed like the blond didn't want to continue. Neville hadn't seen Draco have an expression like that since…

"Listen, well…" Ron seemed uncomfortable and he didn't meet Neville's gaze. "They were talking about you because apparently you and Snape had gotten in a fight… and while they were arguing, they said some things about…"

Neville didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say, whatever they had heard about him… His mind raced, but when he thought about what Snape knew and what Lupin knew… there could only be one thing…

"Did Snape rape you?" It was Draco looking a little pale and Neville wondered how long this had been eating at the blond. He could feel himself start to feel a bit sick. How was he supposed to answer that? He opened his mouth to respond but closed it. How could he explain it?

He looked at the two of them, but shifted his gaze to his hands on his lap.

"Oh god…" It was Ron this time and he looked up to see the ginger looked pale too, obviously taking the lack of response for the worse. "That's just…"

"Wait!" Neville looked at them frantically. "You two don't know everything!"

"How can you still-"

"Shut up!" Neville interrupted Ron and stood up. He needed to do something. He walked past them and started pacing. His mind was racing… he looked over at Draco and the expression on the blonde's face made his heart ache. They needed to know everything.

"I'm going to tell you… everything." Neville took a deep breath. "Don't interrupt me and please don't come up with any assumptions until I'm done." He looked at Ron who nodded reluctantly.

"I've liked Snape for a while." He started running a hand through his hair. "You need to know that, I was starting to like him when I realized I like blokes. He never knew and with everything that happened, I figured it was just some weird feeling of mine that would fade but it hasn't. All of this happened on the night I was supposed to have that detention."

"On the way down, some Ravenclaws dropped a potion on me from the stairs. It was an accident, but it was a love potion that they were mixing with some other things. A strong love potion. I went to detention anyway, figuring that he would know what kind of potion it was, but when he come over to help me wash it off. He got too close and apparently the fumes had hypnotizing attributes and… I had fallen. He had no control over himself!" Neville clenched his fists.

"The second he came to, he was ready to resign and be sent to Azkaban, but I couldn't allow it. It wasn't his fault! Even all of the Professors knew there was no way he could have stopped himself no matter how much he wanted to…" He realized that he was crying and he leaned against a desk. "And I still like him so much. It wasn't his fault and I understand that but I… I figured that after that, there really was no chance but then he was treating me so different… and then this…" He waved a hand over his stomach.

"You two might think I'm crazy or sick, but I still like him and I think he might like me too. If not now, maybe later but…"

"He likes you." Neville looked at Draco, surprised; Ron was looking stunned as well. "I've never seen him like that before. He hates himself for liking you so much."

Neville bit back a sob and put his hands over his eyes. "He raped me because I wasn't conscious for it but I can tell you that I probably would have accepted the affections if I hadn't hit my head."

Ron still looked a little pale and his expression was one he usually had when he was playing a difficult game of chess.

They stayed in silence for a while, ignoring the bell that rang for class. Neville pulled himself together and wiped his eyes. "Please don't think any worse of us…" He sniffed but couldn't bring himself to look at the two seated teens.

"You are the biggest Gryffindor I've ever met." Suddenly Draco was walking the short distance between them and he pulled the smaller teen into an embrace. "You're a complete fool. You're stubborn to an unhealthy extent… and even after all that, you still kept the baby." Neville stood stunned, looking at the ceiling. "What would you have done if there was no chance for you two?"

"Kept it anyway." Neville barked a small laugh. "Try and snog him whenever he wasn't paying attention."

"You're still coming over for the break, right?" Neville looked over at Ron, who shifted on his feet uncomfortably. The Weasleys had asked Neville if he would stay with them for the holidays since he still hadn't gotten a letter from his Gran yet. Draco was going for the holidays as well… the teen hadn't been back to the Malfoy manor since the war had ended.

"Of course." Neville grinned as Draco let him go. He wiped his face again and took a deep breath. "Listen, guys, I would really…"

"Don't worry." Ron grinned sheepishly. "We won't say a word to anyone."

"Thanks." The sandy-haired teen sat against the desk again.

"I'll have a few words to say to good ole Snape though." Draco looked slightly annoyed. "I don't care if I have to wrestle him like Professor Lupin; he needs to know some things."

"Please don't fight." Neville sighed, but at that moment his stomach growled loudly. He blushed furiously.

"Ron!" Draco looked at the ginger with disgust as the red-head gaped at him, blushing furiously. "Always food with you! I would hate to think about how we're going to live later with having to support that appetite of yours." The blond looked at him, bored, before grabbing Neville's hand, "Let's go get something to eat, I'm starving."

Neville laughed and didn't feel like pointing out the fact that Draco had just suggested that he and Ron were going to be together for a long time yet.

Ron walked behind them, his face a bright crimson. "You eat just as much as I do!"

XXX

"Will you come with me to St. Mungo's?" Neville looked over at the older man who was holding his hand. Madame Pomfrey was doing another check up before he left for break. This seemed to have surprised the black-haired man.

"To visit your parents?" The voice was soft, but Neville couldn't tell what the man was thinking. He nodded his head.

"I usually go with my Gran but…" He looked down at his stomach that had gotten even bigger. "Plus it would be nice to have someone with me just in case she's there."

"If she hurts you… you'll be in a hospital anyway." Coal black eyes seemed to be trying to calculate him.

"I want you to meet them…" Neville mumbled, looking away from the older man. Their relationship hadn't really moved anywhere, but he was glad to have the man kiss him every once in a while, or attend while Poppy checked him out.

"Okay." He looked up in surprise and smiled brightly. It meant a lot to him to be able to take the older man to meet his parents. Plus he hadn't seen them in so long. He pulled in his hand that was holding the other man's and kissed the warm pale fingers.

"Thank you."

"I'll be coming to the Burrow as well." Neville couldn't help but gape at that, Snape's lips twitched slightly. "Not for the whole holiday but I will be there on Christmas. I'm afraid if I don't Mrs. Weasley would send me a howler."

"She would." Neville nodded, still surprised but incredibly lightened by the news. "But can I still kiss you in their company?"

Snape made a grunting noise to show that he wouldn't approve of such behavior but since he didn't actually say anything Neville made a note to try it. If anything, if could give him some sport.

"Everything looks alright, dears." Neville grabbed his shirt and laughed as Snape glared at the nurse for calling him dear. She smirked slightly at the older man before looking at the teen. "Now if anything happens, you know I'll be here, but I'm sure Mrs. Weasley will know how to help you if you need anything."

"I'm sure." Snape smirked curtly and waited for the teen to get his robes on.

Poppy gave the man a calculating look before handing Neville an envelope. "This has your vitamins, some instructions just in case and maybe some things you could do…" She looked over at Snape with a small frown before smiling down at Neville, "to make things easier.

"Okay, thanks." Neville took it and finished buttoning his robe. "But I doubt there's going to be anything to worry about," He smiled, "It usually takes nine months."

She snorted at him incredulously before she began to put up her supplies.

"When did you want to go?" Neville turned back to the emotionless man and gave him a confused expression. "To see your parents." Snape sighed.

"Oh!" Neville put a hand to his mouth trying to think of the best time. "Could we go tomorrow before the feast? It'll be more convenient for the both of us I think."

"Very well, meet me at the entrance to the Great Hall at three." Snape nodded and opened the door for the boy so that they could leave the infirmary. He closed the door behind him and glanced around the hallway before stopping the teen with a touch and placing a small kiss on his forehead. "I'll be honored to meet your parents."

XXX

It was the first time Neville had needed to apparate since the summer and he felt a little nauseous during it. Snape assured him several times that as long as he concentrated that he wouldn't splinch the baby behind and the older man even offered to side-along but the teen blushed and said he could do it.

It took him a bit longer to regain his balance than it normally would. He passed the nurses' station, already knowing where his parents would be and the people who recognized him greeted him as usual, but he swore that most of them did double takes as he passed him.

Snape walked behind him quietly, not mentioning anything, though Neville did notice the man made him feel a bit calmer about seeing his parents in his condition, and it also seemed that no one was going to question his condition with the older man leering behind him.

"I should have cut my hair." Neville pulled at his sandy curls. He had been letting his hair grow out so he could put it in a pony tail and not have to worry about it as much. He looked at the door into his parent's room hesitantly.

"You look fine." Snape didn't mock him or have any sense of sarcasm in his voice and Neville looked back up at the older man. He bit his lip but turned back to the doors and walked in.

He had to admit he was a little surprised that his Gran wasn't there. He had honestly been expecting her hat and all ready to take him home. He walked over to his parents' beds and saw that both of them were playing with toys on their beds. They stopped for a moment to look up at him but then went back to their toys.

"Mum…Dad…" Neville smiled at them. "Sorry I haven't been visiting you lately. As you can see, there's been a lot going on at my end." He put a hand over his stomach and his mother looked over to his stomach and smiled at him, but then switched the toys she had been playing with. His breath hitched slightly but then there were hands on his shoulders.

"This is Professor Severus Snape; he works at Hogwarts and teaches Potions." Neville kept talking to them. "There's no hope for me, but he seems to get it alright." He smiled slightly as the hands twitched slightly.

"Has Gran visited you lately?" He fumbled with a block on the end of his father's bed. "I haven't spoken to her in a while, but I'm sure she's been here. Next time, maybe we can come together again." He ignored his shaky voice. "I promise to visit more when I have my kid, you'll be the first to meet him, I swear, and he'll know his grandparents. You're going to be Gran's now." He laughed slightly at this and watched his parents play for a while.

One of the hands left his shoulder, but he felt the warm fingers grab his hand shortly after. He looked up at the black-haired man. "We can go now." Snape didn't argue and they left the ward still holding hands. Neville stopped to talk to the head nurse and she didn't once ask about his condition and he smiled at her gratefully as she assured him that his parents were in good health and had even started letting some people play with them on good days.

It wasn't until they had left the hospital and Neville had let Snape side-along him back to the gates of Hogwarts that he started crying. But Snape didn't say anything and they talked about his parents and the older man told Neville what he had heard of them since he had never met them before, and the teen told him about stuff they did before that other people had told him about.

Like how for his first birthday his mother had tried to make a stuffed cat that looked more like a slug, but how he had carried it around with him until his Great-uncle Algie's Thrombulus Flourinian vine had eaten it one day when he left outside.

Snape wondered aloud how Neville survived in an environment like that when he was such a klutz, but the teen ignored it and they made it back to the Great Hall just in time for the feast before the break.

Neville felt lighter than he had in a long time.

XXX


	5. It's Supposed to be a Question

XXX

Chapter 5: It's Supposed to be a Question

XXX

The break began with a loud bang.

Neville had been invited to stay at the Burrow with the Weasleys along with Draco and Harry. The teen had never been there but would always hear stories about it from Ron or Harry at school. He had to admit he was a little worried though because the Weasleys had originally thought that Ron was the father of his kid and he hoped he wouldn't be intruding.

He had written his Uncle about his plans and the man had agreed that it would probably be best to go instead of staying at the school where there wouldn't be that many people to help him if something did happen… even if Snape would be there.

It was the homeliest place the sandy-haired teen had ever been to and he had immediately felt comfortable. Draco told him it was probably a trick so that he would like them and let down his guard enough so that they could take the baby after he had it. He had laughed but it didn't stop him from being a little more careful. Mrs. Weasley would follow him around or make him sit down if she ever thought he was moving too much. He was grateful to her, but had to assure her a few times that he wasn't due until the spring.

Molly also seemed to think that Neville and Draco were never eating enough and soon they found that she was fixing their plates with more and more food every night. Neville wanted to laugh at how easily it seemed for Draco to blend in with the family- from arguing with Ginny on what Christmas decorations should go where and catching the blond talking hushed with Fleur, both of them laughing quietly.

Bill, Ron's older brother, had come with his wife a week into the break and when they announced that Fleur was pregnant with their first child, Neville breathed a sigh of relief. The family rejoiced and the French woman had kept asking the teen questions about being pregnant and how in her country it wasn't that uncommon for wizards to have babies and they thought having babies was a beautiful thing. At first, Neville had to admit she came off a bit strong, but when she had finally stopped letting him know what pregnant wizards did in her country or what he should be doing, she was a bit easier to like.

The family had warned him that she might take a bit to get used to, but she was a nice girl. Draco told him one day that if she had gone to Hogwarts, she would have definitely been a Slytherin and Neville didn't tell the blond how he felt about that.

The next big thing that happened was when Fred, George and Angelina had shown up. First George had come into the house announcing that the reason Fred hadn't written his family in so long was because he had a surprise for them. Mrs. Weasley still looked a bit angry and stated that surprise or not, an owl would have been nice. But when Fred came into the house with his pregnant wife Angelina, all the worries seemed to have been forgotten. The twin had declared that he thought it would have been interesting to show up at the house with a baby, but he didn't want to spend Christmas away from home.

Angelina admitted that she had talked the red-head into going because she missed the Weasleys and her family was going on a cruise for Christmas. She was six months along and due in March, and she was extremely happy to not be the only pregnant one showing- even it is was a bloke. It was nice as they compared the differences in their first trimester and he took mental notes on what to expect next even if pregnancies were different for everyone. Fleur seemed to finally realize that her stomach was going to grow at the sight of Angelina who already looked like she was ready to give birth; she had assured Neville that it does stop growing after a while, but the blonde girl would sniff when she looked over at Angelina and glare slightly at Bill.

The next thing that happened: Neville had watched in amusement as Arthur Weasley accidently slipped something about Remus Lupin into one of his conversations with George, who had then been eyeing his family warily and demanding to know what they knew. The Weasleys confessed that they all knew he had been dating Remus, even Bill and Fleur because the werewolf had come and asked how they felt about it. Apparently Molly had invited Remus over that night but George wouldn't speak to him, obviously embarrassed that his whole family had known what he didn't tell them.

Fred had been on George's side at first, but then Angelina told the other twin that Lupin was right in what he did so he decided not to participate, much to George's chagrin. It had taken two days, but George had finally forgiven the older man only because Molly said he was being ridiculous and then started telling Lupin about bachelors she had met or heard about.

Neville had to say that he had never seen any family like the Weasleys but he loved everything about them. Even when Harry had been caught snogging Ginny, the family had all gone to a piece of paper that Mr. Weasley had- apparently the whole family had had bets on when the two would get together and when Harry had told them it was sixth year, Ron had become a bit richer.

It was a week before Christmas and Neville found himself wondering if he should be the one to write his Gran because she still hadn't sent him anything. But Molly and Arthur had told him he couldn't use one of their owls if he wanted to because it was important that his Gran realize that she was the one in fault and to write to him first. He begrudgingly agreed, but he still felt a bit uncomfortable about not having shared words with the woman since October.

"I do hope Charlie's alright." Mrs. Weasley looked up at her clock that said Charlie was traveling, "He should have been here by now."

She was sitting between Neville and Angelina with a picture book of how she looked being pregnant with all her kids and then afterwards while she held them in the hospital. The sandy-haired teen was grateful there weren't any birthing pictures. He had met Charlie a few times the summer before but they had been short comings and goings and he wondered if the brother would remember him.

He looked at the small plant he had in his lap; the two buds had gotten bigger and he began to wonder if they bloomed before or after the baby was born. The entire Weasley family had taken an interest in why Neville had been carrying the pot around (he didn't have his robes with him so he didn't have an enchanted pocket to carry it around in) and when he explained what is was and how it worked, he had actually received several compliments from Bill and Fleur on how dedicated he was to Herbology which had made him feel extremely happy.

Fleur had even been asking him if it was easy to take care of the plant because if it was so rare she wouldn't mind trying it out herself. He had been taken back by that until Bill told Neville honestly that Fleur didn't have an ounce of herbology skills in one of her fingers and he hoped Neville wouldn't get her hopes up too far.

Neville looked up at the clock that had to be the neatest thing in the house- it didn't tell time, but instead told them where their family was. He had asked Mrs. Weasley where she had gotten it and it turned out to be one of the last things Mr. Weasley's brother Bilius made before he died. He watched the clock as Molly returned to talking about her photos with Angelina, the hand with Charlie's face on it moving to home.

The sandy-haired teen faced Molly to say something but he caught Arthur's eye, who then shook his head and smiled, mouthing 'she likes surprises'. Neville grinned and nodded. He looked around the family room and saw Bill and the twins taking bets on who would win the chess game that Ron and Draco had started again- it looked like Ron had to concentrate pretty hard this time. Harry was watching them with amusement as Ginny read a book, leaning against him in front of the fire. And both Lupin and Mr. Weasley were staring at the door, waiting for Charlie to come through it.

Neville noted that it seemed to be taking a while because Arthur would look back at the clock to make sure that it said Charlie was home and then look back at the door again, but suddenly someone knocked loudly and the door opened, revealing a buff ginger who wasn't as tall as the rest of the Weasleys looking a bit confused.

"Is there a reason Severus Snape is pacing in our front lawn?" The red-head looked at his family, who had gotten up to greet him but were now moving to look out the window.

"Oh goody," Draco smirked and slid out of his chair as he made his way to the door and outside. Neville got up slowly, blushing slightly; Snape was here already? The man said he was going to come on Christmas Eve… He paled slightly. What if something happened? He put his plant down on the table beside the couch and moved a little quicker over to the door but as he got there, Draco was already tugging the older man inside.

"I need another Slytherin…" The blond smirked and then pushed the man through the door and Snape stopped right in front of Neville. He looked a little disgruntled and embarrassed but was pulling himself together nonetheless, looking down at the younger teen.

"You're early." Neville smiled up at him questioningly.

"I am." Snape nodded curtly.

"With a greeting like that, no wonder the whole school knows." Fred said sarcastically, glancing over at his twin.

"It's a miracle they were able to keep it a secret for so long." George drawled back but then stopped and looked over at Bill and Charlie who were staring at Snape and Neville stunned. Fleur smiled and walked over to the black-haired man.

"I remember 'ou." She took the now startled man's hand and pulled him into the house, "Oh 'ou shou'd 'ave told us Nevi'lle." Snape looked back at them questioningly.

"Sorry, thought you knew." Neville flushed as Bill and Charlie's shocked gazes fell on him.

"Sorry dears, I thought I told you as well." Mrs. Weasley laughed at her sons. "Come to the kitchen, Severus, you look a little peaky, how come you didn't just come inside?" The woman and Fleur both pulled the man into the kitchen and Neville tried to ignore the expression that had appeared on the man's face when Molly had called him peaky.

"You and Snape?" Bill put his arm around Neville, grinning, "I had been thinking that talking about the father of your kid might be a little taboo but now that he's here. Like older men, Neville?"

"You're pregnant, plant boy." Charlie looked at Neville, still in a bit of shock. Neville blushed but nodded, suddenly remembering that Charlie had never once gotten his name right so the man had just started calling him plant boy since he was always found in the greenhouses.

"You know Neville…" Arthur emphasized the name, glaring at his son slightly.

"You really don't know anything, do you?" Fred joked at his older brother.

"He's pregnant with Snape's kid." George pointed a thumb at the kitchen and Charlie was still staring at Neville in shock. "Poor dear."

"It's too much for him." Fred tsked, shaking his head; he looked over at Neville. "He never was any good at Potions."

"Alright, that's enough, boys." Arthur smiled apologetically at Neville, "Sorry, so many of 'em we forget if we've told them all."

"Understandably." Draco was smirking at the kitchen door Snape had gone through.

"Sorry… just…" Charlie shook his head. "Wow. Never thought I'd see the day when Snape snagged someone."

"Knocked them up, you mean." Fred teased before looking around the room. "What else have you missed?"

"I know George and Remus are shagging." Charlie seemed to be thinking seriously about this. Remus blushed brightly and didn't look Arthur in the eye. "There was something about Ron, but one of the dragons burned it before I could read it properly." He looked over to his brother.

"He's snagged himself a Malfoy, that one." Ginny laughed at Ron who started to blush, but Malfoy just smirked and grabbed his hand.

"Bloody hell." Charlie looked at the teen boys.

"About time!" Draco snorted and looked at Ron waving his hand over to Charlie. "That's a proper reaction! The only sane one in your family, I'm afraid."

"And Angelina's pregnant too?" The red-head had finally noticed the pregnant woman sitting on the couch giving him an amused look.

"I did invite you to the wedding, didn't I?" Fred looked at his brother, bemused, before laughing. "It's alright, no one else knew about that until recently. But seriously, Charlie, I'm starting to doubt our family's communication skills."

"I'm your little sister." Ginny raised a hand up, laughing.

"Oh, I'm dating your little sister." Harry waved over at Charlie who brightened slightly at that.

"Who won?"

"Sorry bro, that's me." Ron laughed as Charlie handed him some money.

"I wish I had known about that bet." Ginny sniffed idly.

"Is there anything else I might have missed?" Charlie now looked around at the room looking amused. "Or can I go to bed to process all of this now?"

"Oh! Fleur is pregnant too. We just found out." Bill patted Charlie lightly on the back with his arm still around Neville.

"Congratulations to everyone who deserves it." Charlie grinned before stretching. "Do I still have a room or have you given it to someone else yet?" He looked over at his dad.

"You still got one." Arthur laughed and hugged his son good night. "You should go talk to your mother though and see if you can save Severus."

"Do I get to call him that now?" Charlie looked a little excited.

"Lord knows we will." Fred and George looked at each other and laughed.

"I think this is going to be a fun Christmas." Bill looked down at Neville. "Best one yet, I might dare say."

XXX

"This is our room." Neville flushed as he was showing Snape around the house and they had finally gotten to the rooms. "We share with Draco too though… Do you mind sharing a bed?" The teen looked at the two beds in the room that he and Draco had been sharing. Molly had seemed to think that Neville and Severus would want to share a bed… Neville blushed brightly; they had never done it before or even slept in the same room together.

Harry and Ron were sharing Ron's room. The twins got their room with Angelina and Remus. Ginny still got her room to herself until Hermione showed up, she had written she was coming for New Year's because her parents had decided to go America to celebrate there and she wasn't too keen on airplanes. Draco, Neville, and now Snape were in Percy's old room- which had been changed into a guest room. Charlie got a room to himself and Bill and Fleur were sharing his room.

Neville was honestly amazed at how many people were in this one house.

"I'll sleep on the fl-"

"Left side? Good because I like the right." Neville blushed, not meeting the older man's gaze as they walked into the room. Snape put down his black bag right next to Neville's trunk, watching the teen warily.

"Everything is alright?" Hazel eyes looked up to coal black ones and Neville nodded with a small smile.

"Yeah." Neville patted his stomach. "I'm still getting bigger though, it's kind of uncomfortable."

"How so?" The man watched the teen sit on the bed.

"Well, I have to work around it," Neville laughed, "and I feel fat, but Angelina told me that's a normal feeling for pregnant wo- people."

"Three pregnant people in the same house." Snape snorted before walking over to the teen, "Help us."

"I don't know how I feel about that comment." Neville laughed lightly before looking up at Snape who was in front of him. The older man leaned down and gently placed a kiss against the teen's lips.

"That's it- I'm making Harry switch rooms with me." They both turned to see Draco snort and leave the room, but he closed the door behind him and Neville laughed. He looked over at Snape and realized that the older man looked really tired with small bags forming under his eyes.

"You look tired." He stood up, using the older man for support and started to leave the room. "I left the lily downstairs. You go ahead and get some rest." He stopped at the door and saw Snape watching him. He blushed slightly and nodded at him before leaving and closing the door behind him.

He sighed as he felt his heart hammer against his chest. Would he be able to share a bed with the older man? Was it going to get awkward? He hadn't seen the man since the day Snape had taken him to see his parents and all Neville knew was that he was falling for the man harder than before.

He wondered if Snape felt the same way.

"Wow, you got it bad." He turned around to see Angelina grinning at him in almost a Weasley twin manner.

"Huh?" He looked at her, a little confused.

"I have to admit, at first I thought it was one of Fred or George's jokes when they told me about you and Snape, but right there… just a second ago, your facial expression…" She smiled at him. "It's a nice feeling, right? To be in love."

He flushed hotly and stammered. He turned back around and started heading down the stairs to hear her behind him laughing softly to herself. Maybe she was just teasing him. He knew he liked Snape. But love Snape? He flushed again.

He was in love with Snape!

He didn't know why it surprised him so much, but it really did. He had never really thought of loving someone before, but this definitely had to be it. He found his mind wondering if the older man felt the same way but shook his head; the man liked him right now. He probably didn't love him… yet, he found himself adding to the end of that and grinned slightly.

"Oi, Fred!" He jumped, forgetting that Angelina was behind him. He heard her laugh slightly but he walked into the living room where his plant was. Fred and George were talking to each other in hushed voices which reminded Neville of his fifth year when Umbridge had taken over the school. Lupin was eyeing them warily but kept talking to Bill about Egypt.

Fleur, Ginny, Harry and Ron must have been upstairs getting ready for bed. He yawned, grabbing his plant and looking at the two buds. He heard Mr. and Mrs. Weasley laughing in the kitchen with Angelina who must have been going down for a snack.

"Oh, Fred." He looked over to the twins to make sure he had their attention. He didn't bother trying to tell them apart when they were in their twin mode. "Angelina is looking for you." He remembered her calling for him as the foot of the stairs.

"Hm?" The twin on the left smirked slightly and stood up to follow his wife's laughing, obviously wondering what it was.

"Night, Neville." Neville waved his hand at George and went up the stairs again. He stopped at his door and looked up when he heard laughter upstairs.

"Get him!"

"No! *gasp* Stop. *laugh* Draco!" Neville tried to stifle a laugh and pictured the blond tickling Ron. Times sure had changed.

He opened the door slightly and slid in, closing it behind him just in case Snape was already asleep. He looked over at their bed in the darkness and saw that the man was on the left side, he smiled slightly and walked over, quietly placing the lily on the nightstand before going over to his trunk to change. Since his stomach had grown so much, he couldn't wear his normal night pants, but Mrs. Weasley had given him an old night gown. It was a simple white and she said that it would be more comfortable than having something snapped against your waist and Neville had been surprised because it was very comfy, even it was a bit girly. It buttoned from top to bottom but he was thankful that it just slid over him.

He quickly changed and put his clothes, in the trunk not wanting to cause a mess. He looked over at the bed nervously. Snape was already asleep so he could do this. He flushed and tried to crawl in as gently as he could and lay in the bed, still not wanting to wake the other man.

But at that moment, the older man turned to face him and his eyes met coal black ones. He felt himself warm up again, lying in the comfortable bed with a source of warmth beside him.

"H-hey," his voice cracked and he looked away from the older man, not wanting to make Snape uncomfortable. But then there was a strong hand turning him over so he was on his side facing the black-haired man.

The hand moved to his stomach and Neville bit his lip, enjoying the sensation as it started to rub circles. He kept his eyes on the older man's, starting to think it was unfair how he could never tell what Snape was thinking. He put his hand over the older man's on his stomach and could feel his lips twitching into a smile.

"I haven't felt it move yet." He whispered softly, leaning forward, slightly towards the other man.

"Too early." Was the silky reply and Neville grinned, placing a kiss on the older man's lips. "Hmmm…" Snape moaned slightly into it and they both stopped, blushing. The older man seemed startled at himself for making such a noise, but Neville wanted to hear it again.

He kissed him again, this time nibbling on the dark-haired man's lower lip and he couldn't hold back the giggle of excitement that came out when the older man made the same noise. Snape pulled away, glaring at the younger man who blushed and covered his mouth.

"I missed you." It just seemed to come out of his mouth randomly, but Neville knew he really had missed the older man. Without notice, he started to yawn.

"Good night." The older man turned over again and Neville smiled as his body relaxed and he fell asleep.

XXX

"Sshhhh!"

Neville opened his eyes to see Draco turning to shush Fleur and Ginny who were both giggling softly. He glared at them but then realized there was an arm around him. He looked down at it and saw black night robes. He flushed brightly and looked up just in time for a flash of light to blind him and he shrank back in shock but suddenly the arm around him was gone and there was a thud on the ground.

Neville flinched; he had just knocked Snape off the bed. He glared over at the intruders who were running out of the room laughing.

"Accio camera." A cool voice was behind him and he turned to see the older man holding up his wand while trying to pull himself back on his feet from an obviously rude awakening.

"No!"

Neville smirked when he heard Draco shout as the camera flew into their room and into Snape's hands. The man proceeded to yank open the back and with a swish of his wand, vanish the film. The older man sighed before looking at Neville and the teen shrugged apologetically.

"What time is it?" And in the most human moment Neville ever witnessed of the older man, he yawned, half covering his mouth. This caused the teen to flush and then turn to look at the clock beside their bed.

"Almost nine." He looked back the man, willing his blush to go down. "There's probably breakfast already." And it seemed that after he had said that they could hear people's voices downstairs and it sounded like they were already eating.

"Nice gown." The older man smirked slightly at the teen who looked like he was wearing a large white gown that was a few sizes too big. Neville flushed again and got out of the bed carefully, he never had that good of a balance in the mornings. He went over to his trunk and grabbed a pair of muggle pants that were a few sizes too big for him normally but fit fine with his new growing belly and slipped them on under the gown. He moved to take the gown off but glanced over at the older man who was changing as well and could feel his face warm up.

Snape was unbuttoning his top, revealing a pale chest when he stopped halfway down and looked over at the teen who was staring with a crimson face. Neville quickly turned his gaze away and took the gown off, turning his back in the direction of the older man as he put his shirt on and left the room, wanting to give Snape some privacy.

He didn't hear the small deep chuckle before he closed the door.

"Oh dear, you're a little flushed, are you feeling alright?" The second he walked into the kitchen, Mrs. Weasley was sitting him down with her hand on his forehead. "You don't feel too warm, but your hair is getting long, would you like me to cut it?"

"That would be nice." Neville smiled, his hair had been growing and now with it getting curly, it was getting hard for him to deal with.

"So sad, 'ou 'ave lovely cur'ls." He smiled thankfully over at Fleur who in return started playing with his hair. Mrs. Weasley sat a large plate of waffles in front of him with some milk.

"Yes, well, not everyone is as attached to their hair as Bill." Molly sniffed as Bill laughed over at his mother.

"But 'e 'as beautiful 'air." Fleur left Neville and went over to her husband and began to play with his long ponytail. "Don't eve' cut it." She smiled down at him and kissed his forehead.

"At least he can still grow it out." Mr. Weasley laughed as he sat down in the kitchen. "Ooh! Waffles!"

Neville suddenly felt like someone was watching him and he looked over at Draco who was eyeing him impishly. He flushed, realizing the position the blond had saw him and Snape in before he glanced over at Ginny who was blushing and obviously making a point not to look in his direction.

"Ah, Severus, join the fun!" Fred got out of his seat to grab the man who just came into the kitchen; he glared over at the teen who dragged him to sit beside Neville.

"How did you sleep last night, Severus?" George was pouring Snape some milk and he turned to glare at the other one.

"Boys, that's enough." Molly huffed before smiling apologetically at Snape. "Sorry, dear."

Obviously not liking being called that either he grunted but let her put some food on his plate. Neville watched the older man, amused; it seemed that Snape wasn't used to this kind of environment either. "So how are the holidays fairing at Hogwarts so far, Severus?" Mr. Weasley smiled over at the black-haired man.

"Well, considering there's only one Gryffindor, rather peacefully." Harry, Ron and Neville laughed when the man glanced over at Harry. "A few Hufflepuffs have taken to trying to break into empty classrooms for some…" He coughed slightly, "Privacy, I should say but Peeves likes to call them out."

"Good ole Peeves." Fred and George laughed, sharing a mischievous glance.

"Nothing ever changes does it?" Remus laughed.

"Who's the poor Gryffindor left alone?" Draco raised an eyebrow.

"Mr. Creevy seems intent on having the school papers planned for the rest of the school year." Snape sighed, taking a drink of milk.

Neville enjoyed breakfast as they all talked about random things involving Hogwarts or family. He looked down at his plate and couldn't help but think of his Gran; he looked over to ask Snape a question and realized he didn't know what to call them man in present company. The adults were calling him Severus and probably expected him to call him that as well but the older man had told him not to unless they were alone… Then again, that had been before they were developing much of a relationship. He probably couldn't get away with calling him Professor without someone making a dirty joke or some kind of reference to what kind of relationship they might have.

He sighed, he could call him Snape but that just seemed too weird to be calling the man his last name in front of his face without the 'professor' part being attached. He looked up again and noticed the man giving him a questioningly look; he flushed slightly in response. Leaning over so that he could whisper softly, he asked, "What am I supposed to call you?"

He knew he had to have turned bright red when the man's lips twitched up in a smirk. "If I let those dreaded twins call me Severus, surely you can."

Neville nodded, embarrassed, and looked around to make sure no one had heard him. Thankfully, it looked like no one had been paying attention to him.

The rest of the day was rather uneventful with eating food and just hanging around the house. Neville decided to take a walk to the lake that wasn't too far from the house and was happy to see Snape stand up when he asked if anyone wanted to go.

"Oh, sweety, you need to wrap up more, it's snowing." Mrs. Weasley handed Neville another scarf and gave Snape a woolen hat. He inspected it before politely putting it on his head and opening the door for the teen who laughed at the bright purple color now coating the man's hair.

They walked quietly down to the lake and Neville decided that he really like the country. His family lived in the city and he started wondered if he would be able to get a house far from the busy streets. It would be better for all the plants he wanted to grow as well; most of them would be able to be planted outside as long as there weren't any muggles around, and it would be nice to have space for the kid to run around and play; he had never had many places he could explore when he was younger.

He took a deep breath of air and looked over the frozen lake, it was so beautiful. He looked over at the older man and flushed when he walked over to him and grabbed his hand. "It's beautiful out here."

"I could tell you enjoy it," was the emotionless reply but Neville smiled, yawning and leaning against the older man. But then there was a loud pop and they both jumped slightly as birds flew off of their trees. He couldn't explain it, but the second he heard the noise, a strange sense of dread had come over him and he held on tighter to the older man's hand, trying to shake the feeling.

That was someone apparating wasn't it? Who could it be? Maybe they had forgotten something and had to go get it, whoever it was.

"What's wrong?" He shook his head, not wanting to ruin their time alone but he looked back at the Burrow, they could barely see it from where they were.

"I feel like something might be wrong." He answered truthfully, looking up with worry at the older man. That seemed to be enough to make Snape hold onto his hand tighter and walk over to the house, keeping a steady pace to make sure that Neville didn't overexert himself or trip. He stared at the house as it got closer and saw a group of people outside talking; his heart started racing.

He recognized the man who seemed to be talking urgently to Arthur while Molly had a hand over her mouth.

"Algie!" Neville shouted frantically, letting go of Snape's hand, and he took off toward the house but he could hear Snape running behind him. His great-uncle turned around quickly and it took him a second, but he saw Neville running up to the house and he ran over to meet him.

"What's wrong?" Neville breathed harshly as he got to the man, he noted how pale his great-uncle was and the bags under his eyes. "What's wrong? Is it Gran?" He couldn't hide the worry in his voice as he grabbed the man's shoulders.

Algie shook his head, gasping for breath, but this didn't help Neville's nerves at all. He felt himself trembling and even before the man said it, he could only think of one other thing that would put his great-uncle in such a state.

"It's your parents."

XXX

He couldn't breathe, everything was going too fast. He ran as fast as he could to the room he had visited so many times in his life. He ignored the protesting doctors and nurses that he passed and didn't answer anyone's questions as he turned down the all-too-familiar hallway, gasping for air and letting the area spin around him unable to focus.

They couldn't be dead.

He saw a nurse and doctor standing outside the doors that led him to his parents talking in hushed voices, the nurse paled at the sight of him and the doctor tried to grab his arm as he made his way to the door.

They couldn't be dead.

"Son, maybe you should…" He whipped his arm out of the man's grasp glaring angrily, before frantically throwing the doors open.

There was no way they could…

His Gran looked up from her seat between two still bodies; there were tears pouring down her face and her eyes widened at the sight of her grandson. She opened her mouth to say something but closed it, and he watched her face contort in pain as she fell to the floor bursting into sobs. He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the bodies on the beds, but he could still feel the hot tears falling down his face.

Dead.

He walked over to his mother's bed and grabbed her cold hand; it looked like she was sleeping peacefully as she had been before in the many times that he had visited. He lifted a trembling hand to her face and barked out a sob.

"Why?" He let himself go as he looked at his mother. Why did they have to die? He felt his legs tremble but willed himself to stay standing; he did his best to ignore the sobbing woman on the floor. He heard the door click and looked to see the doctor approaching him slowly, but for some reason seeing the man standing there opened something inside of him.

He walked over to him, punching him when he was within reach. "Why?" He cried out, letting the tears fall, "They're in a bloody hospital! How did they die? You were supposed to take care of them!" He grabbed the man's white robes violently.

"We did the best we-"

"Like hell you did!" Neville sobbed, now holding onto the man for support to stay up. "They should still be alive!" he took a gasp of air, "They should still be alive!"

"You need to calm down, Mr. Longbottom."

He leaned against the wall, running his hands through his hair as he looked through his tear-filled eyes over at the bodies of his parents and his grandmother sobbing on the floor.

The door opened again and he could hear more voices before suddenly Snape was in front of him and he felt himself break down, clinging to the older man as he cried. He remembered strong arms wrapping around him as he cried and yelled and screamed until he couldn't do it anymore and they both slid to the floor with the older man supporting him.

He stared blankly at the now empty beds in the room, not having noticed when the nurses had taken his parents' bodies. Snape had a hand in his hair, massaging his scalp in the same soothing motion that Professor Sprout would use whenever he had gotten upset when he was younger. He knew there were other people in the room, but he didn't pay them any attention as he stared at the beds.

His back hurt from his position on the floor and he knew the older man couldn't have been too comfortable either. He remembered that his Gran had spoken to him in a hoarse voice at some point, but he couldn't remember anything she had said; he guessed she had gone to get things prepared for a funeral. Algie had been helping her stay up.

He noticed the window in the room was now a bright orange color, signaling that the sun was setting and began to wonder how long he had been in that room staring at the now empty beds.

It wasn't fair.

He shook his head; life wasn't fair, everyone knew that. He… he had just… he could feel the warm tears form in his eyes again and wiped them with his sleeve. He turned his head to look up at Snape, who was staring at the empty beds with a solemn expression, but the coal eyes turned to him as soon as the older man realized that he was being watched.

"I don't want to be here anymore." His voice was hoarse and cracking, but the older man nodded silently and helped the teen stand. Neville flinched at how his back screamed at him angrily but ignored it and looked up to see Molly Weasley, Harry, Ron, Draco and Charlie all standing in the corner of the room talking quietly. Draco looked over to see that they had both gotten up and walked over to the sandy-haired teen, instantly pulled him into an embrace.

If Neville had thought he had cried as much as he could earlier, he was proven wrong. He grabbed onto the blond's robes, bracing himself as he felt the tears roll down his face again, but the blond just rubbed soothing circles on his back and Neville noticed that he seemed to be humming something. He sniffed and pulled away; wiping his face with his sleeves again, and smiling gratefully at the blond.

Mrs. Weasley handed him a glass of water to rehydrate himself as they left the room. No one said anything, but their presence alone seemed to comfort him and he felt himself growing tired. A warm hand took his and he looked over at Snape, noticing the worried look on his face. He leaned against the older man as they walked when he saw his Gran sitting at a chair at the exit- her brother Algie talking to her softly and soothingly.

He stopped as she noticed him and stood up. For the first time in his life, he could actually see how old she really was- her eyes were swollen from crying. She walked over to him silently until she stood in front of him.

He stared down at her, not really knowing what to expect. She had just lost her son and daughter-in-law. She nodded at him sadly and then grabbed his hand, squeezing it tightly as she put a piece of paper in it before turning around and walking through the exit with Algie.

He looked at the small folded up piece of paper and opened it up.

'Neville, I'm sorry.'

He felt his eyes warm up again. Underneath the note was a date and time for the funeral; he knew they would be buried in the Black Pool cemetery with the rest of his family. He folded the paper up and slipped it into his pocket.

The group left the hospital together. When they had gotten back to the Burrow, he exchanged a few words with everyone but went up to bed soon after. Mrs. Weasley brought him a plate of food and a large glass of water, looking like she had cried as much as he had, before she kissed him on the forehead gently and left.

He ate as much as he could and drank all of the water before slipping into the night gown and crawling into bed. He laid staring at the roof, not knowing what to think. He was exhausted but too much had happened to let him fall asleep easily. He could feel tears form again, his parents were dead.

The door opened and he turned away from it, not wanting whoever it was to see that he was crying again, but it shut again and he could hear footsteps walking to the bed. He felt the mattress dip and turned to see Snape crawling into the bed behind him. Seeing the older man with him, he felt the tears fall more freely and then there were hands turning him over so that his body was facing the older man. A hand slipped into his hair, playing with it again and another arm wrapped around him tightly.

He grabbed the older man's robes, sobbing into them.

They would never meet the kid he was going to have. They would never be able to see the house he was planning to build in the country. They would never…

There were warm lips kissing his face, his eyes, and following his tears. He opened his eyes to look over into the coal black eyes, and kissed the man gently on the lips. Wiping his eyes on his gown, he pulled himself closer to the older man, whose arms tightened around him.

He felt himself drifting to sleep and he looked up at the older man as his eyes felt heavier. "I love you."

XXX

It was December 23rd when they buried his parents. It had been a rather large ceremony as many people in the Ministry paid their respects. It was a beautiful ceremony fit for the most loved Aurors who had ever entered the field. He stayed throughout the whole ceremony and thanked people for coming, but left early with Snape. He hadn't been able to talk to his Gran as much as he had wanted to, but they had come to an understanding.

He decided to spend the rest of the holiday at the Burrow with the Weasleys like he had planned and his Gran didn't argue with him.

He didn't know what to feel about her at the moment.

He looked over at the man sleeping beside him. Snape looked so peaceful and a lot younger without his usual scowl on his face. He smiled up at him and kissed his forehead lightly, not wanting to wake the man. He had been finding it hard to sleep since his parents had died, but he knew from the books that he had read that sleeplessness was common in the second trimester of pregnancy.

The strong arms wrapped around him tighter and he curled as well as he could against the man's chest. Snape had never replied to his confession and he wondered if the older man had thought he was just being extra emotional due to the circumstances. Neville decided not to say it again until the moment felt right. He looked down at his stomach that was close to matching Angelina's and she assured him that her stomach had grown pretty fast as well.

Christmas Eve was a party all day and he enjoyed everyone's company. Even Snape seemed to have lightened up and he found the man making sarcastic jokes with Arthur and Remus. They stayed inside as the snow built up around them for most of the day, but towards the end, George, Fred, Ginny, Harry, Draco and Ron all had a contest to see who could build a snowman that looked closest to Snape without using magic.

Draco cheated and then proceeded to destroy everyone else's snowmen when he had been disqualified which had amplified an intense snowball fight. A few hours later, all of them were sitting as close to the fire place as they could get, wrapped in blankets and sipping warm Butterbeer.

Angelina and Fleur pulled him into a conversation about baby names. He hadn't thought about it at all and both girls had seemed really surprised. He didn't know if it was a boy or a girl, so he didn't want to choose a name and then have to switch later.

He heard giggling and saw Mr. Weasley holding a piece of mistletoe above his head as he pulled Mrs. Weasley into a kiss. He smiled, watching them, and wrapped the blanket he had around himself tighter. He glanced over at his Praegnan lily which had surprisingly gotten slightly bigger again.

"Such a strange flower." He looked up to see Lupin smiling down at him. "I've never seen buds not bloom for such a long time."

"Me either." Neville shrugged, looking at the plant again. "I think it might not bloom until the kid's born. It makes sense since it needs to be raised by a pregnant person and it forms a bond with them."

Lupin nodded his head, dipping down to get a closer look at the rare plant. "Such a rare gift." The older man smiled and went to go see what George and Draco were doing as the two of them huddled in a corner and started whispering.

He thought about the word the older man used… gift. He looked at the plant; it had been a gift from Professor Sprout when he had asked about it. Gift. He put a hand on his stomach; children were described as gifts sometimes. He looked up at the two buds.

The buds were the most useful part of the flower, so he was getting two gifts from his lily. He stared at it before his eyes widened. The plant had bonded with him when he was pregnant and it grew with the kid inside of him. He had read that much about the flower, but he couldn't remember any mention about how many buds the plant had. He bit his lip; he was getting ahead of himself.

Plus Krum still hadn't responded to his last letter, and he figured the Bulgarian was busy spending time with his own family before he was free to answer questions about flowers.

He put both of his hands on his stomach this time.

No, he was getting ahead of himself; it probably was just a multiple budding plant. It was a rare plant so it made sense that not many people had documentation on it. He made a note to start writing a report on it after Christmas.

He laughed softly to himself and decided to join Angelina's and Fleur's conversation on what was going to happen after the baby was born. There was still a lot of planning to do.

XXX

Christmas breakfast had been the best breakfast Neville could ever remember having. He laughed as Molly kept telling her children to remain seated as each of them seemed itching to get to the presents under the tree. Apparently it would never matter how old you were, Christmas would always be a day of presents.

By the time they had all gotten seated in the living room, Ginny and Fred had put everyone's respective presents into different piles. Neville had been surprised to see he had a few wrapped boxes and looked over to see Snape had some as well. He shrugged at the older man and they sat down next to each other as everyone decided to rip into their presents.

Apparently it was a free for all at the Weasley house.

A lot more enjoyable by far.

Neville laughed as he pulled out a planting calendar from Hermione- it told him when it would be best to plant which plants and when they were most useful for which potions. Snape had commented on that and he blushed, telling the potions master he still had a few months to meet his goal of one good potion for the year.

He also got a green sweater from Mrs. Weasley, which had to whole family laughing as they all put theirs on too. Draco had received a grey one and seemed startled to have received it. Neville got a book on the Praegnan lily along with a notebook from Algie with a note to correct all the mistakes by the other herbologists and to write a book of his own. A pack of random seeds from Ron and Harry who both shrugged and said some of them might be rocks.

He looked over at Snape who had a green scarf that matched Neville's sweater wrapped around his neck and was looking at the box from the sandy-haired teen. He blushed as he opened it; Snape raised an eyebrow at the other teen when he pulled a cauldron out of the box.

"Figured I owed you some." Neville laughed nervously, but then heard everyone else laugh too and looked to see that people had been watching them. Snape picked up his other parcel and looked over at Lupin who had just opened a present from Snape.

It was a calendar that had each week before the full moon highlighted. Remus looked over at the black haired man a small smile tugging at his lips, "Thanks."

Snape nodded, his lips twitching in a smirk, he opened his present from the werewolf and pulled out a potions' timeline. Neville looked over it and blushed when he noticed that the year he was born on it was marked, along with the year Snape was born. He looked over at the black-haired man to he was glaring at a laughing Lupin.

They played with the wrapping paper for a while, throwing it at each other before Molly made them all clean up their messes. Well, she made everyone who wasn't pregnant clean up their messes so he, Angelina and Fleur sat on the couch together looking over a baby-guessing book Angelina had gotten.

It had random questions like what color is your baby's hair going to be? And when your child goes to Hogwarts, what house will they be in? It was like a game and Neville thought it seemed interesting.

The family returned and all guessed with the questions but answered it a few times for Neville too. Like for the hair color everyone said Angelina's and Fleur's were going to have the Weasley ginger hair but Neville's was probably going to have black.

"Mine will probably be a boy too." Angelina laughed as she filled it out.

"I 'ant a girl." Fleur looked down at her stomach that wasn't even showing. "A lady."

Everyone looked over at Neville who then looked at Snape and shrugged, "I don't really know. I guess it'll be a boy."

"It'd be hilarious if it was a girl," Draco leaned over to Ron, "considering they're both guys."

"What about mine… what house?" Angelina looked up, but then laughed at Fred's expression. "Of course, Gryffindor, I wouldn't want to ruin the family's tradition."

"Too bad because I bet Fleur's is going into Slytherin." Draco smirked over at Bill, "Especially if it's a girl."

"Oh goo'd." Fleur clapped her hands, "They wer' very pre'tty in Slyther'in" She smiled over at Draco, ignoring the family's startled noises.

"They are." He corrected before laughing at Ron's expression.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Bill laughed.

"I guess Gryffindor." Neville shrugged, he decided he didn't really understand why everyone thought this was fun, it wasn't going to happen for a while. He looked over at the older man who smirked at Neville. "Or Slytherin."

"Oh, that baby's going into Slytherin." Draco snorted, "No doubt in my mind."

No one seemed to want to argue the matter of Snape's child ending up in Slytherin so they went to the next question. Neville leaned against the older man, not caring who was watching, but then there was an arm wrapping around him and he flushed slightly.

"Oh, it has tips!" Angelina smiled, showing Fred. "It says talking to the baby before it's born will help it recognize you as the parents along with develop some of their cognitive skills."

"Like spitting out of your stomach isn't much help letting it know who its mum is," Ginny laughed.

"Oh, Arthur spoke to all of you before you were born." Molly smiled and held her husband's hand.

"Didn't get as much time with the twins though." The older man joked which caused everyone to look up in interest, especially Fred and George; Bill laughed. Mrs. Weasley blushed. Arthur noticed he had the attention of everyone in the room and laughed, "When your mother found out she was having two… Well her mood swings were everywhere, she went to stay with her mum."

"I remember that." Bill laughed, "I thought mum had gone crazy."

"I knew it." Fred sniffed at George, "We weren't wanted."

"No!" Mrs. Weasley blushed furiously. "It was just that with twins… I had gotten really fat and well, when you're pregnant it's hard to control your emotions and well-" She smiled at them. "I wanted every one of you."

"She tells us now." George sighed dejectedly and Lupin put an arm around him.

"Oh boys…" Molly huffed at her sons who just laughed.

They continued for a little while, just talking and then going to eat when they had gotten hungry. Neville had decided to take a nap since he was tired; he seemed to not be getting much sleep. He got into the bed, leaving his robes on and flopped himself on the pillows. He laid staring at the window before a thought hit him, Snape hadn't gotten him anything.

But it seemed that the thought had called the older man into the room as the door opened and Neville turned to see Snape pulling off bows and ribbons that the twins had probably put on him. He looked over at Neville.

"How are you feeling?"

Neville watched the man make his way to the bed and crawl down on it, lying beside the teen.

"Just tired." Neville yawned but immediately found himself curling up against the older man. There was a hand in his hair again.

"I noticed you haven't been sleeping well." The older man whispered into his ear and the teen shivered. He looked up at Snape and noticed that the older man looked tired as well… and there was something different about his expression.

"How are you feeling? You look like you need more rest." Neville kissed Snape's hand that wasn't in his hair. He looked back into the coal black eyes and stopped. "Is there something wrong?"

"Did you mean what you said the other day?" Neville's mind raced instantly, going over things he said and flushed immediately. He had told Snape he loved him not too long ago.

"I love you." He nodded, flushing a bright crimson. He couldn't look the older man in the eyes at that moment and settled for playing with the pale hand he had captured earlier. He loved Snape.

The older man made a noise and Neville couldn't help but look up, but his face was instantly blocked by the older man kissing him on the lips. He opened his mouth so it could be deepened and he tasted the pumpkin juice and the sweetness of waffles that they had that morning. He grinned, loving every ounce of it and when the older man went to pull away, he captured his lower lip, sucking on it softly before releasing him.

The older man was leaning over him, keeping himself propped up so he wouldn't be putting weight on the stomach which just reminded Neville of how gentle the older man had always been with him. He lifted up a hand and traced it down the black-haired man's face.

"I love you." He whispered it softly this time and flushed brightly when he noticed the older man was blushing too. He put a hand on the man's forehead, it didn't seem warm but the older man leaned into his hand. "Are you alright?" He asked, a little worried when he realized the older man was shaking slightly.

"I want you to marry me."

Neville froze, looking up at the older man wide-eyed. He immediately realized what seemed so off about the older man: he was nervous and Neville couldn't remember ever witnessing the older man be nervous before. His eyes warmed up as he grinned brightly at the older man.

"I thought it was supposed to be a question." He laughed lightly and Snape grinned down at him in an almost un-Snape-like manner.

"I don't ask." And the older man leaned down, kissing the teen, but Neville made it a bit hard by laughing and wiping his eyes with his sleeves. Snape seemed to relax and pull himself together again and wrapped his arms around the teen when they heard noises outside.

"He said yes!" Draco was whispering rather loudly over other people's muffled voices. Neville laughed again and Snape waved his wand at the door and there was a clicking noise.

"I don't think we want to interrupt them." He heard Molly shoo the crowd outside their door and looked at the older man.

"This is going to be crazy." Neville pulled himself against the man and one of Snape's hands started massaging his stomach. He yawned but shook his head, not wanting to fall asleep after this but then the man's other hand was in his hair and he glared slightly over at him.

Snape kissed him gently on the lips before he fell asleep.

"I know."

XXX


	6. Not Alone

XXX

Chapter 6: Not Alone

XXX

Neville woke with a start. He looked around the dark room and felt arms wrapped around him and sighed, he wasn't going to be able to get back to sleep. He looked over and saw the other bed in the room was empty again and wondered if Snape had ever unlocked the door…but then the bed would still probably be empty, Draco had taken over half of Ron's bed.

He tried to gently pull the hands off of his chest knowing that he would probably wake the older man up and smiled slightly when the arms tensed.

"Are you alright?" The groggy but still silky voice made the teen blush but he nodded.

"Yeah, just want a drink of water." The hands unwrapped themselves from him and he felt the chill of the night air hit him. He wrapped his arms around himself and smiled down at Snape who seemed to have fallen right back asleep. He tip-toed the best he could out of the room and down to the kitchen in the dark but and tried to remember where Mrs. Weasley kept her cups.

"Need help?" Neville spun around as the lights came on and widened his eyes. "Oh sorry mate, didn't mean to scare you." It was Ron who was now scratching his head and giving the teen an apologetic look. He smiled and grabbed a cup for Neville and himself and pouring water into them.

"It's alright." Neville sighed and sat at the table, "Didn't think anyone else would be awake."

"I think Draco and Harry are in the middle of a snoring competition." Ron laughed and sat at the table handing the sandy-haired teen his drink. Neville didn't have the heart to point out that Ron probably snored louder than the both of them. "I can't believe you're engaged to Snape."

Neville had been caught off guard by that and blushed hotly taking a sip of his water. He hadn't told anyone but then he remembered hearing people outside his door before he had fallen asleep. He had to admit that he never thought the older man would have asked him to…he had not been prepared for it. He looked over to the door that led out to the stairs that went up to the bedrooms.

"Me either." Neville answered honestly looking back at Ron. "I mean I really just only realized that I loved him." He paused blushing and looked down at his growing stomach. "Sometimes I have to wonder if the only reason is because of this though…"

"It's not." Neville looked up at the now blushing red-head that wouldn't looked him in the eye. "You said yourself you liked him before all of this and…well…I mean the way he looks at you sometimes…its just so…"

"Blank?" Neville offered trying to think of Snape's facial expressions in public.

"Ha." Ron chuckled taking a sip of his water, "All I can say is that when he looks at you…like that…it's like none of us are supposed to see it, it's a private moment for you two."

Neville could feel his cheeks staying warm and took a sip of the water. He wondered if he would be able to see this expression or if he may have already.

"Oh and it was pretty embarrassing for him to ask all of us what we thought you would say." Ron laughed and Neville stared at him wide-eyed.

"He asked…all of you?" His voice squeaked slightly, he couldn't even imagine it.

"Yeah." Ron nodded, "You had gone to bed early or something and he walked into the room and just asked what we thought would happen if he asked you to marry him."

"But why would he ask you guys?" Neville really didn't think that the man was close to anyone…except maybe Draco.

"He was planning on asking your Gran…" Ron's smiled faded, "And he wanted to ask you before Christmas but…"

Neville bit his lip nodding. His parents had died…

"I heard him talking to Draco about it." Ron was blushing again. "And after all that he came into the room and admitted that he felt like he needed to get our approval first." Ron's smile grew. "It's a wonder my mum was able to keep quiet, she was hugging him and crying for the rest of the night until he went to bed."

Neville wondered if Snape had asked his Gran or Algie.

"Dad says he'll give you away if you'll let him." Ron laughed quietly not wanting to wake anyone else up.

"Couldn't we get Draco to walk Snape down the isle?" Neville smirked before sighing. "We'll we haven't really talked about it…I kind of zonked out right after." He blushed wondering if the older man would be upset about that.

"Hey can I ask you something?" Neville looked over at the ginger who now looked a little embarrassed.

"Sure."

"And you won't tell anyone?"

"Nope." Neville had been a bit taken back by that and tried to think about what it could be.

"What's it like?" Ron flushed and looked at the table. Neville blinked at him.

"Wha-"

"I mean to be pregnant. And I know you've answered it several times and what not but I was…just…" The red head put his hand over his stomach and Neville's eyes widened.

"You're not?"

"No!" Ron flushed hotly shaking his head and waving his arms. "No! No, I was…just thinking…about…"

Neville blushed and put a hand over his own stomach as if on instinct. "With Draco?"

"I don't think I'm seeing anyone else." Ron mumbled with his face still bright crimson but he looked up at Neville and shrugged. The teen grinned.

"You know, I don't think it's really that bad." He answered honestly. "I mean it's like…well I hate to say this but its like a broken leg. It hurts sometimes, you have to work around it and its harder to balance but in the end I think it'll work out."

"You looked really sick at first." Ron sighed balancing his head on his hands.

"But it's over with already." Neville smiled, "You get babied a lot."

"But…I mean…how's it going to come out?" Ron asked with a worried tone.

"Well…" Neville tried to think of how to word it. "Pomfry tells me that they'll have to cut the stomach open. But!" Ron's face had gone pale. "It's a normal practice that even happens with women so the doctor's will know what they're doing and you might get a cool scar on your stomach."

"You don't regret it?"

Neville smiled, "Not one bit. But I would suggest being in love with the person before …I mean…yeah…"

"I'm not worried about that." Ron covered his red face with his hands. And Neville couldn't help but gape at him.

"Really?" He grinned excitedly. The ginger nodded before glaring over at the teen.

"Not a word." Neville smiled and put his hands over his mouth nodding. The day was already turning out great. He had no doubt that Ron and Draco would last.

XXX

"Hermione!" Ginny jumped up when they heard a small pop outside, she threw open the door and ran outside.

Neville lay in the couch with a few blankets over him, Mrs. Weasley had heard him sneeze so he was stuck under the bundle of warmth until she said he could get up. Snape had stared at him amused but now the older man was making notes in Neville's herbology calendar that Hermione had given him. He guessed the man was probably giving him hints on when he would need things or fixing 'mistake's' that other potions masters made.

He looked over at Angelina who was giggling with Fluer as they continued to talk about baby names. He didn't know why it was such a big deal and he let his eyes settle on his plant that was now in the floor beside the couch so that he wouldn't have to move to look at it.

"OH MY GOD!" His eyes widened when he heard mad giggling coming from outside and he wondered if he could chance getting up to see what was going on.

"Don't you dare move mister." Mrs. Weasley was crossing the living room glaring at Neville slightly as if she had read his mind. He huffed and settled back into the couch. "I wonder what's going on-Oh! She brought Victor Krum with her!" The older woman looked around obviously not knowing what do to with herself.

"Who said Krum?" Ron popped his head out of the kitchen only to be shoved out by Draco and Harry who walked past him and towards the door which was being opened by Mr. Weasley to let Hermione, Ginny and Krum in.

"Hey guys!" Hermione smiled hugging Mrs. Weasley and everyone who was close enough. She looked over at Angelina and Fluer and went to hug them too. "I hope you all had a happy Christmas!"

"It was wonderful, never had so much company before." Mrs. Weasley laughed excitedly.

"Hey Victor." Draco nodded at the Bulgarian who smiled slightly and nodded back. "Happy Christmas?"

"Very much." This caused the man to blush a little and Draco raised an eyebrow before looking over at Ron who was staring awkwardly at the older man.

"Hi Ronald." Victor nodded toward the ginger before walking into the house and acknowledging everyone he knew and introducing himself to the people he didn't. Draco eyed his boyfriend suspiciously and then growled slightly grabbing the collar of the ginger's shirt and pulling him into a different room.

It took them a while to settle in but Victor was put into Charlie's room with the ginger and Hermione was going to share a room with Ginny. Neville was finally allowed out of his cocoon to make space for everyone else and he finally was able to introduce himself to the Bulgarian, he had never been able to meet him his fourth year.

Hermione didn't mention his parents and he was grateful.

"Oh!" Mrs. Weasley had been telling the bushy haired girl everything that had been going on and who got what for Christmas. "And Neville and Severus are engaged!" She squealed with delight and Hermione gaped over at Neville who flushed but nodded.

"Guess what." She gleamed over at him flashing her hand and he saw a ring. "Me too!"

Neville was about to tell her congratulations but jumped back when the room was taken over by high-pitched squealing. He stared in awe as Hermione was suddenly surrounded by every girl in the house and they were talking in a high pitched tone that was so fast he didn't even try to follow it.

"Is this the Praegnan lily?" He turned his head and looked over at Victor who was sitting down beside him with a large blush on his cheeks and he was holding Neville's plant. The teen nodded but flinched with the girls' pitch got really high for a second.

"Congratulations." The teen smiled at the Bulgarian as he inspected to plant tenderly.

"You as well." The older man nodded and Neville nodded back. He watched the dark man inspect the lily with tenderness. "Sorry I haven't written you back, I wanted to see it myself." Neville looked at him a little taken back before looking at the flower again.

"See what?" He asked hesitantly.

"This has always been a one bud flower." Krum looked over at the younger teen. "I asked my herbology professor at Durmstrang and he said…"

"What are you guys talking about?" The both looked up at Hermione who was blushing furiously and then looked down at the lily in Krum's hands. Neville mentally cursed at her for her timing and turned back to Krum…

"What did he say?" Neville put his hands around his stomach protectively and then he heard Snape talking to Lupin and turned to see the two men watching him.

"Well, you know how the plant bonds with the growing infant." Krum's voice was serious and an almost teacher-like manor. Neville nodded looking at the lily and then back at Krum.

"Yeah?"

"The bud is supposed to represent the bond with the infant." Now his tone was like a teacher trying to get the student to figure something out for themselves. He nodded but then froze. He remembered what he had thought before about the two buds.

"I think you might be having twins, Neville." Krum patted the teen on the back in a congratulatory manor and there was a thud behind them. Neville turned slowly to see Snape on the floor.

XXX

Neville ran his hands through the sleeping man's hair as he sat on their bed. He sighed and looked down at his stomach, twins? Well he didn't know for sure yet but Mrs. Weasley insisted that they call an actual midwife to check.

But he didn't doubt the fact that it would be twins at all, after all with the lily it made sense.

He looked over at the offending plant that was sitting on the windowsill in a ray of sunlight. Krum had given him a book he had found on them and commented that most of the information might not be correct because it hasn't been grown in so long. He looked over at the book sitting on his trunk and then thought of what his uncle had given him for Christmas.

Neville grinned thinking of trying to write his own book on the rare plant but jumped when he felt a hand on his stomach. He looked down at the older man who was looking at him slightly confused.

"Wha-"

"The twins gave you a feinting fancy, they were testing a new type. You're supposed to drink it four hours before you plan to pass out." Neville ran his hands through the older man's hair again as Snape scowled.

"When did they?"

"Apparently at your first breakfast here, remember George poured you milk for you." Neville tried to sound nonchalant. "And you were only supposed to be out for an hour."

"How long was I?" Snape groaned slightly moving and flinched slightly as he sat up. Neville winced, hitting the floor couldn't have been gentle on the black-haired man.

"About six hours." Neville laughed softly at the glare Snape was giving the door. "They're both being punished. Mrs. Weasley has them looking for garden gnomes until you wake up."

"In the snow?" The man smirked slightly at that. "Let's wait a little while longer to let them know."

"Well Hermione's been checking every…"

"Oh good he's up!" They both turned to see the bushy haired girl walk into the room. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, Miss Granger." Snape stared at her boredly and Neville laughed slightly giving her an apologetic look. She didn't seem fazed by it at all and just shrugged.

"I'll go let Molly know you're up and um…I'll tell them you need some time alone." She smiled and left the room.

"What does she-"

"We think its twins." Neville looked down at the older man nervously biting his lip.

"What do they have to do-"

"No…I mean." Neville grabbed the black-haired man's pale hands and placed them on his growing belly. "I think its twins."

Snape stared at the stomach but suddenly looked up at Neville wide-eyed. The sandy-haired teen chuckled lightly, he guessed the older man hadn't heard what was said earlier. Pretty good timing though…even if it was an accident.

"How do you know?" Snape didn't pull away but moved so he was on his knees with his hands still on the stomach and he was slightly leaning over the teen.

"My lily, it has two buds." Neville turned his head to look at the green plant. "I had thought about the possibility but talking to Krum earlier…"

"I had never heard of one having two buds either." Snape was looking at the plant. "But I hadn't heard very much of the plant itself either."

Neville waited a second seeing if the man was going to react anymore. "So twins?" He smiled.

"As long as they turn out nothing like those two buffoons in the snow." Snape's lip curled as he leaned forward and kissed the teen. "And no rhyming names…"

"I honestly thought about naming them when they came out." Neville blushed when the older man started kissing his jaw line. "Thought it might come to us then."

"You cut your hair while I was out." The man growled slightly and pushed the teen gently to lay against the bed. He put his hands in the short curly hair.

"Is it alright?" Neville felt his heart pounding and when the man nodded he pulled him into a kiss.

"What about the wedding? When you want to do it?" Snape asked breathlessly in the teen's ear caused Neville to shudder a bit.

"After they come out." He blushed when the man stopped to give him a quizzical look. "I really don't want to have to walk down in a white maternity robe."

"Whatever you want." He was massaging the stomach with his hands now and Neville moaned pleasantly.

"He's bloody awake!" The both turned to see Fred soaked and covered in snow at their door.

XXX

It was warmer right before New Year's though there was still snow everywhere and the lake was still frozen, most of them decided to spend the day outside.

"I don't want school to start again." Draco sniffed solemnly as his head was on Ron's lap. They had enchanted a blanket to stay warm and not get wet on the snow. Ron sighed down at his boyfriend.

"I dunno, we'll be leaving the place soon enough." The red-head looked over to Hermione who had her nose in a book. "Don't know what will happen to her though." He looked over at Neville who was writing in a book. "Not you too."

"I'm taking notes on the lily." Neville smirked at him. "Since most of the teachers are going to probably ask me to stop attending for you know...those 'no pregnant people' classes I figured I'll have time to…I don't know…"

"Already skipping NEWTs and breaking into the world of Herbology Longbottom?" Draco looked at the sandy-haired teen amused. "What NEWTs are you trying for anyway?"

"Probably just Charms, Herbology and DADA." The teen shrugged, "But that doesn't mean I don't want to learn as much as they'll allow me to in the other classes."

Ron looked over at Hermione who was giving Neville a look, almost like they were the most beautiful words she had ever heard. He looked over to Victor Krum who was throwing quaffles with the twins, Bill, Harry and Ginny as they stood on the ground running around. He was about to shout over at the Bulgarian but was hit on the arm, he looked down at Draco who was looking at him annoyed.

"I said no looking at him." The blonde huffed, "Only me."

Hermione and Neville looked at the two of them before laughing to themselves. It wasn't anything new to know that Ron's first man-crush had probably been the Bulgarian seeker and of course Draco would be upset at that.

Neville looked at his notes, he thought he was doing pretty well and was trying to remember it from the beginning. He looked over at Snape who was silently reading a book and leaning against the tree, Lupin was beside him talking and he guessed that the black-haired man must have been replying somehow because the werewolf had just kept talking…then he wondered if the man was trying to annoy Snape… he blushed and went back to his book. Suddenly a red quaffle landed beside him and started rolling onto the frozen lake.

"I got it." He watched George run over. "Book worms." The red-head laughed at everyone sitting on the blanket.

"How dare you sir!" Draco lifted an arm lazily as Ron laughed. Neville laughed and George threw the red ball back over to Ginny but suddenly there was a cracking noise and Neville looked back at the lake to see that George wasn't there anymore.

"George?" He looked around…but calling his name seemed to pull everyone's attention to the lake.

"George!" Lupin was running onto the breaking ice and Neville felt his insides go cold as the older man dived into the lake. Fred was running to the lake to but was stopped by Snape and Krum who both had their wands out and they did the same movement with them.

Lupin floated out of the lake holding onto George's body and Neville got up with everyone else as Snape and Krum floated them toward the house. Molly had run out to see what the commotion was and was immediately running over to the two floating bodies.

"George! Remus!"

They were able to get them into the house and the werewolf was shivering and shaking George non-to-lightly as they wrapped them up in blankets. The older man seemed to be using a spell without a wand…Neville suddenly remembered witnessing the older man do so before.

"Ennervate! God Da-!" But Lupin was cut off when George started coughing and gasped for air grabbing onto the older man.

"Always the attention seeker." Fred joked and George laughed shakily before shrugging impishly.

"I'm going to sit down." Angelina was looking a little pale and Neville went over to her feeling a little obligated since they were both pregnant. Mr. Weasley was helping her into a chair and gave her a blanket.

"I'll get you some tea dear." Neville sat down on the chair beside her, Mr. Weasley also seemed to have a radar for pregnant women in distress…but he never voiced that thought with Snape and Draco so nearby.

He heard more people laughing and Draco moved to sit down beside him. The blonde looked over at Neville who wanted an update. "Lupin's going to go warm him up upstairs."

Neville and Angelina both flushed at this and looked over to the stairs to see Lupin carrying George up them.

The blonde laughed, "Not a dull moment here, can I come here for the summer?"

XXX

The break ended a lot quicker than Neville had thought it would and suddenly they were all on the train back to Hogwarts. Everyone was talking about what had happened to them over the break but the biggest news for Gryffindor was that Hermione was engaged to Victor Krum, Neville had decided he wanted his own engagement to be silent.

When they had arrived Pomfry was waiting for him at the entrance pulling him aside and talking about twins. He was waiting for her to declare he had to live the rest of the year in the hospital wing so he would be closer to her but instead she had brought him to the corridor before the hospital wing, it had a guest room for visitors but Professor McGonagall had decided that in his condition he shouldn't be doing so many stairs so he was going to be staying there for the rest of the year.

He had to admit that it was a rather large room and a lot more quiet than the boys dorms…he wondered if he could convince any of them to move in with him…then he wondered if he could get a certain potions master to move in with him. The man in question had told him it was improper the moment he asked.

The first month went by quickly with studying and keeping notes on his lily. He had spoken with all of his professors and had learned that some of them were wanting him to pull out of the class since he wasn't trying for NEWTs but he gave them the same reasoning that he had given Draco over the break and they had agreed to let him sit in on some of the classes, but he still would be practically off the roster.

Professor Sprout had moved her plants around during the break and now there was a green house that had Sprout-approved plants for him to mess with if he felt like, she told him that there was no way he wouldn't get his NEWT in herbology so he could continue his knowledge however he liked and ask her questions if he needed, she also offered to help out with his work on the Praegnan lily which he gratefully accepted.

Lupin seemed hesitant to let Neville into his classes at his state but the teen promised to stay out of the way if they were testing spells on each other but he wasn't going to leave his second best subject. The werewolf reluctantly agreed but Neville assumed it was mostly because George had shown up wanting a snog session.

Flitwick actually had no problem with Neville remaining in his class and had spent time researching spells that were made or used specifically on pregnant people. The more severe spells the teen would have to sit out but otherwise he was allowed to attend the classes.

Snape told him that the fumes from the potions they would be working on hence forth would be dangerous for the children which had caused Neville to agree not to attend potions anymore but then the professor offered to let him come during his free periods if he was really so keen on producing one good potion.

And Neville wanted to prove it could be done.

No one at school was mistreating him anymore and even random students would help him in the hallway if they thought he needed it. Though he still got a lot of wide stares from younger students and he would let them touch his stomach when he was finally able to feel the twins kicking. Time seemed to be going by so fast and it was already valentines weekend, he had finally convinced the potions master to spend the night in his room because he had gotten used to him being beside him during the break, and it was getting lonely.

He laid back on the bed watching the pale hands over his bare stomach. The hands were trying to find where the babies were kicking and Neville squirmed slightly at a rather strong one. He didn't think he would be able to get used to it.

"My Gran wrote to me today." He looked over at the dark haired man who was still staring at his stomach and smiled slightly when he got a small nod. "I told her we were going to get married after the twins are born and she said she would like to come to the birth and the wedding if we let her."

"And?" Snape looked over at the teen. Neville sighed, the older man had made the teen make all of the decisions involving both things and he figured girls must have liked it…he didn't so much.

"Of course I said I would love for her to come." The teen laughed at the older man's attention went back to his stomach. "But I really don't want an audience for when I'm cut up."

"I don't know if the doctors will let other people in the room anyway." The black-haired man answered honestly and Neville paused.

"They'll let you in though, right?" He really didn't want to be in there alone. He jumped at another rough kick where Snape's hand had been and the older man looked surprised. "That's getting uncomfortable but at least they're healthy."

"Maybe it's something you ate." The man's lips had twitched slightly upward into an almost Snape smile as he placed his other hand on the stomach. "And I will be in the room with you no matter what they say."

Neville grinned sheepishly. "Good because I don't want to be alone."

"You aren't." The older man kissed him on the forehead before getting off the bed to get ready to sleep, they still had to get to classes tomorrow.

Neville had to admit that he enjoyed their kissing and he really liked their touching, the soft caresses the older man would give him. But soon he found himself dreaming of what it would be like…to go further; he blushed brightly and shook his head. Of course whenever he thought about it he didn't have a large belly full of wiggling babies.

He rolled over to face away from the other man as he climbed into the bed beside Neville. The teen sighed contently as an arm wrapped around him, he could live with just this. It was nice.

XXX

After Valentines Neville didn't have any luck in getting his fiancé into the room with him but Snape always showed up for check-ups with Pomfry or seemed to always be in the hall when Neville was going up or down stairs. The sandy-haired teen decided to pretend he didn't notice to save the man some pride in front of the other students.

He sighed looking at the ceiling of the Great Hall, it was a beautiful spring day which was surprising since it was the beginning of March and usually the snow would have just started melting but he wasn't going to complain about the warmer weather, it was better for planting.

"No offense man…you look like you're about to burst." Dean looked over at Neville who was sitting at the Gryffindor table eating dinner.

"Yes, because that's how babies are born." Draco, who had taken to sitting at every house table at least once a week with Ron (they switched to throw people off) sneered at the black boy. "Bursting."

"That's not what I-"

"I feel like I am." Neville quickly voiced over the teens, Dean was flushed and mumbled an apology to the pregnant teen. Neville smiled before patting his stomach, "If this gets any bigger I don't know if I'll be able to walk."

"Oh Pomfry would love that." Ron laughed, "It be like an early Christmas."

"Hey…where's Luna?" Dean was looking over at the Ravenclaw table to see his girlfriend wasn't there. Draco, Harry and Ron laughed. He looked over at them slightly glaring this time, "Whe-"

"She joined mine and Ron's game." Chortled Draco, "She's at the Hufflepuff table stealing all their pudding."

And sure enough they all turned to the yellow clad table to see one blue figure sitting in front of one of the pudding plates. None of the Hufflepuffs were sitting near her and some of them were eyeing her warily. Dean blushed and got up to join her.

Hermione made a disapproving noise and Draco looked at her bored.

"C'mon, its house unity." She didn't look impressed. "What else were you 'fighting' for all those years?"

"Well mainly house elves." Ginny was on the other side of the blonde and laughed slightly. Hermione flushed and gave the ginger girl a slight glare.

"Really? Is it true what they say about house elves and Bulgarians having in common? That thei-" Ron put his hand over the blonde's mouth as he, Ginny, Hermione and Neville flushed. Harry just laughed before coughing when Hermione glared at him.

Neville laughed as Draco bit Ron's hand and the people around them started glaring for causing so much noise during lunch. He sighed again, NEWTs were coming up and he honestly didn't know if he was nervous or not. He almost didn't see what the point was but then he shook his head. After he had the kids he would want a good job maybe an Auror or some kind of main stream Herbologist. He smiled and wondered how it would to balance a job, kids and the school year with Snape working…

They would have to live closer to here if he wanted to have a house…which wasn't that bad and he could probably find a piece of land and he would get his house out in the country. It would also be easier to visit Professor Sprout to ask about plants or anything if he wanted to.

He grinned as he remembered her going over his notes and how they had both talked eagerly with theories on how the plant worked. She had said that it was an amazing piece of work and had shipped if off to some Herbology journal for him, he blushed looking at the sky again. Would they like it?

"You alright Neville? You're sighing a lot." He turned to Harry who was giving him an amused look.

"A lot on my mind."

"And there should be!" Hermione stood up with her hands on the table. "NEWTs are coming up soon! And right after you'll be due to give birth and then we graduate! Oh I'm just so worried about our scores!"

"Your scores." Draco corrected her like someone would a small child. "You're worried about your scores."

"I want you guys to do well too." She huffed, "Harry and Ron are both wanting to be Aurors and they're going to need certain grades to get that job."

"Actually, they kind of already accepted us into the academy." Harry shrugged and then looked at Ron, "We had to promise to finish school first though."

"I knew you had a better reason for coming back." Neville grinned at the slyly. "That's awesome guys."

"They'll probably want to get you too." Ron looked at Neville smiling, "You did a lot too."

"I want to join if everyone else is." Draco moped and then sighed, "Oh never mind I think I would rather teach."

Neville looked at the blonde surprised, along with Harry and Hermione. Ron on the other hand smiled at the blonde. "You'd be pretty good, as scary as Snape with a temperament like McGonagall."

"I don't know if I like that." Draco eyed the ginger warily.

"What would you want to go into? Potions? DADA?" Hermione was trying to think of subjects the blonde was good at.

"Considering I don't want to fight Snape or Lupin for their jobs." Draco smirked slightly eyeing the teacher's table. "Actually I've been talking to the Headmistress about training under her for her old spot that she refuses to fill."

"Transfigurations?" Harry still looked surprised.

"No, Muggle Studies. Yes! Transfigurations you git." Draco glared at the idiot slightly before looking at Ron, "You think I would do okay?"

"Brilliant." They smiled and Neville looked away wanting to leave them to themselves. He looked over at Hermione who was writing stuff into her planner, obviously not calmed by everyone else already having their careers chosen for them.

"I'm with you." He smiled as she looked up at him. "I've got no clue what I want to do."

"Oh you know it's going to be in Herbology." She looked at him amused, "I won't be surprised if you get famous off that lily you're growing, maybe you won't need to work." He laughed.

"Yeah right. Though it could be nice to not have a job until these things get a little older."

"Why don't you want to know the gender?" Ginny was looking at him a little nonplused. "I mean it's weird to hear you calling them things and its and stuff. Plus! I would be going mad because I would want to have names ready."

"I decided to just name them when they come." Neville smiled and laughed when Ginny, Hermione and a few of the girls who had been ease dropping looked at him in surprise. "I think it's a fitting moment to think of their names when you first meet them."

"I think he's gone mad." Draco whispered over at Ginny who laughed slightly. "Haven't you met them enough…they're inside of you?"

"You know what I mean." He glared at the blonde playfully.

"You should name one after me." Draco looked smugly over at the sandy-haired teen.

"What? Git? Too many teasing possibilities."

XXX

"I don't bloody believe it." Ron stared into the cauldron with wide eyes and then looked at the description on the piece of paper. He looked over at Neville with the same shocked expression.

"Well it looks right." Hermione and Draco were both inspecting it now, the blonde had a slip board in his hands and looked like he was grading it. Neville sat waiting for the prognosis, it was a free period and everyone had decided to watch Neville with his trying to make a proper potion since Snape was gone with Lupin to pick up supplies that all the professors would need for the upcoming exams.

"Of course I get it right and he's not here." Neville sighed as all of the onlookers decided that the potion did indeed look correct.

"Hey we still have to test it." Draco smirked over at Harry who looked a bit uncomfortable. "C'mon Potter, it's just a simple pepper up potion."

"I'd do it but I don't think I should chance it." Neville smiled apologetically at the group who was trying to decide who was going to try it. Finally Ron was ladling out a spoon full and took a drink of it before grimacing.

"Oh it's right." Steam started shooting from Ron's ears and the red head grimaced and flushed as Draco teased him.

"You serious?"

"Congratulations, it took you seven years." Draco looked half amused over at Neville but Neville put his hands up in the air and whooped.

"Ron you're going to want to sit down that's going to go on for a while." Harry patted the red-head apologetically on the shoulders and Ron sighed taking a seat before looking over at Neville.

"The things I do for you." Neville smiled sheepishly.

"It's the charm?" He shrugged and looked over at Hermione teasingly. "You think I could try for my NEWTs now?"

"Yes one potion fixes everything." She rolled her eyes playfully but then they all looked over at Ron who was coughing…and then the steamed stop.

"Hmm…last I checked that goes on for a few hours…" Draco had his clipboard in hand again and was scribbling on it in a teacher like manor. "Tsk."

"Close enough." Neville moaned, his euphoria leaving him.

"Well I'm not doing that again so I suggest we just tell the world that Neville Longbottom got one." Ron sighed patting his chest.

"Almost." Draco sniffed but then shrugged. "Why not? It'll be an inspirational story…"

Neville snorted at the blonde and laid down on the desk looking out the window behind him, it was a nice day outside, he smiled thankful that he had friends that would spend time and take care of him like he did. He never would have thought that when they first started Hogwarts.

Time did fly by so fast.

"We should be studying." He laughed with everyone as Hermione sighed and sat at one of the desks. "I'm going to miss this though…"

"Well you're all leaving me you know." They turned to see Ginny walking into the class room. "I'll be all alone." She sniffed playfully before looking over at Neville. "Oh yeah! Professor Sprout is looking for you Neville."

He looked over to the door almost expecting the professor to walk into the room at that moment. He tried to think of why she would be looking for him…he hadn't ruined any of the plants…the essay. His eyes widened and he jumped up. It had been a few weeks maybe they had replied!

"What's he so nervous about?" Draco looked over to Ginny expecting an answer from her but she just shrugged.

"My essay on the Praegnan Lily!" Neville grinned, "I wonder if they replied."

"Well go on then, we'll clean up."

Neville thanked them and left the classroom quickly, his heart beating excitedly in his chest. He thought of where he might find her…probably in the Great Hall. He went up the stairs and passed a group of second year Slytherins who nodded to him, after all he was bearing the fruit of their Head of House.

His eyes scanned the Great Hall carefully not wanting to accidently miss her. He looked over again frowning, she wasn't there…maybe she was at his room or the infirmary where is seemed he spent most of his time this year anyway. He turned to go up the stairs to the hospital wing when he looked at the Great Hall again…maybe he should just wait here, they could be missing each other if he started looking for her.

He stood at the entrance nervously swaying on his heels and looking up when he heard someone approaching. He sighed when it wasn't professor Sprout again and he began to wonder if she really was looking for him.

"Neville!" The teen froze staring at the ground confused, he recognized that voice but…He looked up to see his great-uncle running to him. He took in a sharp breath, one look on the man's face and he could tell it wasn't good news.

What could it be? He felt dread building up in him and instantly found himself wishing that Snape was there beside him but the man was probably still in London.

He tensed when Algie stopped in front of him panting, waiting for the bad news.

"There you are Neville!" He turned sharply to see Sprout and McGonagall both smiling until they noticed the older man, they stopped short looking slightly bewildered.

"Alg-"

"Augusta's collapsed." The old man interrupted the headmistress who now looked stunned.

Neville felt his world unhinging around him as he gasped and Algie was holding him up and he realized the older man was shaking. He turned to the two professors who still looked stunned.

He had just started working things out with his Gran. He felt the tears in his eyes and he was shaking not wanting to hear it and suddenly he was at St. Mungo's again sitting beside a hospital bed where his Gran slept almost too peacefully. He held her hand tightly ignoring the tears flowing down his face.

"You're a complete idiot." He mumbled looking at her. The doctor's were keeping her under tight surveillance because she was older. They still couldn't figure out what caused her to collapse and he had heard a nurse comment that tonight was going to be important…either she made it or she didn't.

"You can't leave me." He sobbed holding onto her hand tighter, it was strangely cold. His parents were already gone, he couldn't lose her. She was the one that had raised him, taught him about life, punished him and loved him.

He didn't want to be left alone. Then there was a sharp pain in his stomach he hissed slightly jumping back from the bed.

"How's she…Neville what's wrong?" Algie had walked into the room to see Neville slumped against the wall away from the bed holding onto his stomach tightly. He turned his teary hazel eyes up to the great-uncle.

"It hurts." He hissed as another sharp pain came through again. "I think there's something wrong with them."

His uncle was out of the room instantly and Neville could hear him yelling for help. He looked down at his stomach wondering what could be wrong, "I can't lose you guys too…"

Then the door burst open and there was a doctor and two nurses looking frantic.

"Neville was it?" The doctor grabbed his wrist and feeling for a pulse and Neville nodded. "How far are you along?"

"S-seven months." Neville hissed again.

"Take deep breaths Neville." The nurse on his right started some sort of breathing excersize and it suddenly reminded him of something Hermione talked about when they had started talking about birthing. His eyes widened terrified.

"Am I giving birth?" He looked at his Uncle terrified. "B-but it's too early!" he groaned at another pain and started doing the same breathing rhythm the nurse was doing.

"You need to calm down Neville." The doctor looked at him firmly, "I think the stress in inducing the birth."

"And if you do, it'll be okay. Twins are usually early." Neville felt a soothing hand on his back and turned to the other nurse who was smiling at him softly.

"I want Snape." They were suddenly floating him and he grabbed Algie's arm. "Where's Severus?" He felt the tears pouring down his face again. Where was that idiot?

"Calm down Neville." He heard the soothing voice again and glared over at the nurse, she smiled at him but didn't say anything else. And then they were down the hall and his uncle wasn't with him anymore and Neville didn't know where they were going.

"Madame Pomfry…at Hogwarts." He looked at the non-soothing nurse as they placed him on a bed in a small room. "She'll want to be here." He hoped the nurse would have the right mind to notify his friends before she came though.

"We'll call her." The doctor smiled at him, "For now let's give you something for the pain."

He drank the potion they handed to him and wanted it to act faster then the nurses were taking off his robes and he blushed furiously trying to get them to let him do it himself.

"GET THE HELL AWAY FROM ME!" Neville froze and stared at the door. He recognized that voice. Suddenly there were people moving around outside and he could hear them.

"Angelina!" A frantic male voice.

"YOU DID THIS TO ME AND I HATE YOU!" And there were crashing noises and he heard some people scream.

"Dear you should probably wait until they get her to the room."

"MRS. WEASLEY!" Neville cried frantically as he heard them outside his room and then the door swung open to reveal the red-headed woman looking flustered and Fred Weasley with a black eye. They were looking at him surprised.

"Not you too!" Fred seemed hesitant to come in the room but Mrs. Weasley was instantly beside Neville.

"Is it time? Oh you need to get these robes off." The nurses glared at her and Neville flushed as his robes vanished off of him and he was wearing a hospital gown. She looked over at the startled doctor. "You must be new, I'm Molly Weasley."

"Mrs. Weasley I'm scared." Neville looked at her frantically and instantly she was holding his hand sitting at his side. "It's too early and Severus isn't here and my Gran's dying down the hall and…" He felt the warm tears falling down his face and he groaned at another pain, but it wasn't as sharp as the other ones.

"Calm down dear," She hushed him and started playing with his hair and he took a deep breath. She looked over at the doctor worriedly. "Where is Augusta Longbottom?"

"She's in intensive care in room 416." The doctor thought about where they pulled Neville from. Mrs. Weasley was instantly at the door looking at Fred.

"What you doing here idiot boy, go be by your wife." He looked at his mum shocked, "She's going to do everything to get you out of that room but you better stay in there. Can you send Bill and Arthur this way while you're at it?"

Fred was already running down the hall to his wife and she shouted after him. "She'll be back to normal afterwards dear! Don't worry!"

"Neville, it's perfectly normal for twins to be early." The doctor was writing things on his clipboard and Neville got the sudden urge to hit them man with it.

"He's right." Mrs. Weasley was holding his hand again smiling, "Fred and George were only a month early but I've heard of others being earlier. Don't forget to breathe dear, it helps."

Neville realized he had been holding his breath and let it out before doing the exercises that the nurse had used earlier. He was sweating now and was thankful for the firm hand holding his.

"Molly? Neville?" Mr. Weasley stuck his head in the room and smiled immediately when he saw them. "Is it time?"

"Yes but Arthur I was wondering if you could keep checking on Augusta she's in room 416." If he was confused on why she was asking him this he didn't show it but patted Neville on the knee before leaving the room and then Bill came in looking a little confused.

"Bill good." Mrs. Weasley smiled, "Can you keep us updated on everyone?"

"Mrs. Weasley it's your first grandkid you don't have to be here with me." Neville looked over at her angry at himself for keeping her away. "And Mr. Weasley does-"

"He's seen enough births to know how it goes." She smiled at him, "Plus you're practically part of the family."

He smiled and could feel tears forming again and then Bill was beside him holding his other hand. "I'll stay for a while too, that room's a bit crowded." He grinned at the teen, "Glad you haven't gone violent."

Neville laughed softly but flinched at another pain but this time…it wasn't going away. "Doctor?"

"It's time." The man stood up and Neville gripped both of the hands holding his tightly. "We're going to take you to the operating room."

"I'll let everyone know." Bill placed an endearing kiss on Neville's forehead and went out of the room. Mrs. Weasley didn't let go of his hand as they moved his bed out of the room and she started talking about how it was going to go quickly and soothing him.

"Neville!" And then there were more people around him as the bed rolled and he smiled trying to push his fears away. Draco was instantly holding his empty hand. Harry, Hermione, Dean, Luna and Pomfry were there too. The nurse was talking to the doctor as they switched notes. Ron and Ginny were looking at their mum surprised.

"Mum, wha-"

"Angelina's giving birth." Mrs. Weasley smiled at her children, "Didn't have a lot of time to call…she's in room 468 if you want to pop in…just not right now unless you want a broken nose." Both kids looked at each other happily at the news their brother was having a kid too.

"McGonagall is trying to track Snape and Lupin down." Draco was looking at Neville worried, "Don't worry I'm sure she'll find them."

"But it's now…" Neville sniffed at the blonde, "I need him now."

"I could try to accio him if you'd like." The blonde teased and Neville laughed more at the need to smile.

"Do it."

"I'm sorry, all of you are going to have to wait outside." The doctor stopped but Neville's bed kept going and went through doors but there was no one around him anymore and he felt his heart race again. He didn't want to be alone. He wanted someone here with him…to tell him it was going to be okay.

"We'll be out here Neville!" He heard them shout before the doors closed and his bed stopped. He was surrounded by tools and there were nurses preparing themselves for the surgery and Neville wished they would let someone in the room with him.

There was a loud bang and the nurses jumped looking at the door. Neville tried to move his head to look but his torso was strapped to the bed suddenly.

"I'M THE FATHER YOU BLOODY FOOL!" Neville choked out a cry as he heard Snape bellow and then the man was above him looking him over, he looked pale. Neville instantly grabbed his hand and couldn't stop the tears.

"I'm sorry….so sorry." The older man kissed his forehead and then moved behind him to give the nurses room. Neville shook his head.

"What matters is you're here…who told you?" he could feel fingers in his hair soothing him as he felt his body go strangely numb.

"You're uncle Algie found us." And Neville felt like he owed his uncle so much right there. He heard the doctor say that they were beginning and he kept his eyes focused on Snape's. He wasn't alone.

He knew instantly that everything would be okay, he would give birth.

His Gran would be alright, she wouldn't let something like this take her down. She had told him once that she wanted to go in a way that people would talk about for years.

He laughed and wondered if he would be able to take the NEWTs on time after this.

XXX

"I can't believe it…" There was someone making a hushing noise and then there was a grunt.

Neville's eyes shot open and he saw his room was full of people talking softly. His whole body was sore and he moved to sit up.

"Careful you're healing." There were sturdy hands on him helping him sit up and he looked up at Harry and smiled up at him before looking around.

"Where are the babies?" He looked back at the other teen worried. Did something go wrong? He was sure that he had fallen asleep after the surgery and he didn't hear anything going wrong before hand. And where was Snape too?

"Relax…" Hermione was beside him, "When your Gran heard that they were born she demanded to be the first to see them."

His heart jumped in his chest. "She's?"

"In a room alone with Snape and your babies." Draco thought he should point it out and Neville suddenly felt nervous. The door opened and they all turned to see Ron and Ginny peaking in.

"Is he-Neville!" Ron walked over to the sandy-haired teen in the bed and sat at his feet. "Sorry, I was looking at my nephew."

"Congratulations." Neville smiled and then realized he didn't know what his babies were, then there were loud voices outside.

"Better wake him up so he can name the poor buggers."

"The only poor state they'll be in is having you in their lives."

Neville's stomach dropped as he heard Snape and his Gran outside.

"Ma'am you really shouldn't be up now!" That must have been a nurse.

"I'll tell you when I can get out of bed! Now get out of my way and go do something useful for once, or do you find blocking old women from their family entertaining."

The door opened and Neville was startled to hear Snape chuckling silently and his Gran was grinning mischievously at the older man. He noticed Algie behind them looking astonished at Snape. Then he noticed Snape was holding two pink bundles.

They're eyes met and Neville felt his eyes start to warm up and he shook his head not wanting to cry. He felt Ron sliding off the bed and then Snape was standing beside him with their children in his arms and he smiled up at the man who then gently laid both babies in his lap beside each other and facing him. They were so small and sleeping soundly.

He looked up at his Gran who looked a little weaker than usual but she went on the other side of the bed and smiled at him. He felt the tears fall from this face and wiped them with his sleeve. "I'm glad you're okay."

"Enough of that." She looked at him seriously and he laughed, "What are these lovely girl's names?"

He looked down at the sleeping babies and smiled, he knew exactly what their names were. "Asta and Allison." He looked over at his Gran who nodded approvingly but there was something else in her eye and he could tell, Asta had been her nickname in school and Allison was after his mum.

"Beautiful." And he looked over at Snape who kissed him on the forehead and then everyone was standing around him.

"They definitely got Neville's hair." He heard Harry laugh, "Lucky girls."

"Snape with two girls…" Hermione looked like she couldn't believe it.

"Poor girls," Draco sniffed, "I'll have to come over every day to make sure they aren't playing in the mud and taking care of their hair."

"You will not." Snape looked at the blonde like he was an annoying bug.

Neville laughed as they all started talking and he stared down at his sleeping baby girls. He leaned over and kissed them both on the forehead and put them in a more solid position so that they wouldn't roll off of his legs and leaned back into the pillows. He felt a warm hand cover his and he smiled up at Snape.

"Oh Neville!" He looked over at Hermione who looked surprised at herself. "You're essay got published!"

XXX

Epilogue

XXX

"Dad!"

"…"

"DAD!"

"…"

"PROFESSOR!"

Snape sighed before walking to the door of his classroom and opening it wide. Neville stood there holding up Allison while Asta giggled up at him from the ground. His lips smirked slightly as he picked her up off the ground and let them into the room.

Both girls had grown so much, it was almost their fourth birthday. Both of them looked more like the younger man in the room with their long curly sandy-colored hair but they also had his black eyes, he wondered if he ever held as much emotion in his eyes as they do now.

"Sorry, wanted to stop by since I was visiting Pomona." Snape smirked down at the younger man who leaned over and placed a kiss on his lips causing both girls to giggle.

"Never apologize for letting me spend more time with my family." The dark-haired man put his hands on birth girl's heads and messed with their hair causing them to laugh.

"Uncle Draco says girls shouldn't mess up their hair." Allison pouted and Snape looked at her smugly, so the blonde git was getting into his children's minds was he? He would have to tell the younger man to leave his daughters alone, which would be a bit hard since his old student taught at Hogwarts now.

"But Aunt Ron always has his hair all messed up!" Asta laughed and both girls started giggling again and Neville sighed looking at his two daughter.

"Both of you know that Ron doesn't like to be called a girl."

"We know." Allison covered her mouth with her small hands smiling widely.

"But Uncle Draco says we can." Asta wrapped her arms around Snape and he looked at her surprised, she usually wasn't as affectionate as Allison.

He liked to think she was taking after him but Augusta said the girl was her namesake so she was taking after her. He snorted at the memory and wrapped both his arms around the small girl.

"So what did Pomona want?" Severus looked at his husband who smiled and flushed. He was glad that the younger man never stopped doing that, he was easier to tease that way.

"Actually we talked about my book and that new breed of toltenweeds that I'm growing." Neville shrugged and Snape waited for him to finish, there was something else. The younger man blushed, "And she wanted to see if I'd be interested in teaching here in a couple of years."

"Advanced notice I'd say." Snape smirked waiting for the sandy-haired man to continue.

"Well I told her I didn't know, I mean I just got the greenhouse up in the backyard." Severus snorted remembering the memory of Potter, Malfoy, Weasley, Grang…Krum and Krum trying to help but the greenhouse together. It took them a lot longer than he thought it should take proper wizards. "And the ministry has wanted me to run some special classes with their Aurors on recognizing plants and what to do when you run into them."

If you had asked Snape ten years ago if Neville Longbottom would make it very far in life he would have snorted and then proceeded to poison their tea for asking him such a ridiculous question. It you had asked him six years ago he would have said as long as the teen stayed away from him he didn't care what path he took.

He smiled at the younger man and then noticed both girls were fast asleep on their shoulders, he smirked and placed a decent kiss on his lips.

"Do what you want."

"Oh Ron and Harry said that they might be late for the party." Neville was whispering now with a grin, they were going to celebrate the girl's birthday a little early so it was on a weekend. "Hermione said that they had something come up with the Auror but she'll be their early since her department can run itself now." The girl had created a magical creatures rights department of the Ministry and was fighting for the rights of everyone.

"Goody." Snape rolled his eyes.

"She said Krum could come after the Canon's end their practice. Apparently they want to make sure everyone on the team gets used to playing with him so they have extra practices." Neville gently moved Allison to his other shoulder.

"I don't see how you keep up with all of them." Snape drawled as he leaned against his desk.

"It's called having friends, you should try it." Neville sniffed playfully and he must have noticed that Snape was about to speak because he quickly added, "And Remus does not count because you actually have to enjoy each other's company at some point."

"Fine." The black haired man snorted. "But if I'm not his friend do I have to come to his wedding?" He had been trying to figure out ways around it but the younger man always seemed to be able to make him go to these events.

"Yes." Neville laughed softly before looking at the stack of papers on Severus' desk. "I'm going to put them to bed, don't stay here too long okay?"

"Always trying to get me in bed." Severus smirked as the younger man's face lit up bright red.

"You're my husband and even if you weren't, know that I would be." The sandy-haired man smirked impishly before gently waking the girl in his arms and she rubbed her eyes looking at him, he took Asta out of Snape's arms and shook her awake too. "C'mon girls you need to be awake to floo to the house."

"Can't we just sleep here?" Asta moaned grabbing her father's hand as they walked towards her other father's office. She looked over at the man in black and waved tiredly and smiled back. "Night Daddy!"

"Night Dad." Allison yawned not bothering to look back.

"Good night." Snape smirked as he watched them go and then looked at his paperwork; he sighed and started grading the third year's potions. He wanted to get it done early.

Because he knew that there was still someone at home who didn't like to sleep alone.

XXX

The End


End file.
